


Baby Steps

by morganaDW (morgana07)



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Bottom Jensen, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Meetings, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Jensen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Mpreg, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, J2 AU, Jensen as a father, M/M, Minor Violence, Mpreg, Protective Jared, Romance, Schmoop, Shy Jensen Ackles, Slash, Top Jared
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-12
Updated: 2014-07-01
Packaged: 2018-02-04 08:41:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 48,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1772821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morgana07/pseuds/morganaDW
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared's a cop in a small Texas town. He comes from a well known and wealthy family but wants to make it on his own when he can. He knows if he has a weakness it's his soft heart...a soft heart that takes a hit when he finally meets his new neighbors.</p><p>Jensen came from money but when he refused his family's demands to give up his child he was kicked out and disowned. Now on his own with a six-month old baby he struggles to survive in a new town with very little money, no help and he just lost his job.</p><p>When the two men meet one night the attraction is plain but Jared can see that Jensen's past has left him scared and also wary so it's with baby steps he begins to help this young father to heal & also to learn that he isn't like those who'd hurt him...until a piece of his past returns to possibly cost them everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Explicit language, content with some minor violence in a middle chapter. There are mentions to non-con/rape that happens pre-story so the reference is there. So I'll give a trigger warning as well.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything and this is merely written for reader enjoyment.
> 
> Beta'd By: nerdyglasses247
> 
> Author Note: Okay, first off we'll blame a cute fluffy plot bunny that popped up for this piece. It crosses off writing any type of Mpreg off of my bucket list. It's not too expressive, it's mentioned in the story as a whole and even later on I tried not to go to detailed (hope that worked). The muse and I were out of our depths on this one so here's hoping it turned out well.
> 
> There are 8 chapters to this piece. They are done so as I get them beta'd I'll update.

**Baby Steps**

**Chapter One**

After nearly a week of grueling 14-hour shifts, a caseload that refused to let up, and being on a stake-out with an asshole of a soon-to-be ex partner, Jared Padalecki practically fell in the door of his home. The only thing he wanted to do was to slip into an exhaustion-induced coma and sleep the next four days.

He’d been given a commendation for a job well done on breaking the drug and prostitution ring the department had been after for months. Then he’d been given time off after he punched the asshole, now definitely ex-partner in the face in front of a whole room of cops.

At 28, Jared was one of the youngest in the San Rio Texas Police Department to make full detective. He’d been driven to succeed in his chosen profession ever since he was five years old and he’d decided he wanted to be a cop. Now, after fighting to get to this place he could finally succeed and be taken seriously, considering the fact that anyone who saw him only saw who his family was, or how he had chosen to live his life.

Rarely did they see anything past a 6’4”, usually smiling, happy, laughing young man with dark brown hair that touched his shoulders and often fell into deep hazel eyes, and usually Jared accepted that. Except, lately he’d found himself wanting more and he seriously, in his sleep-deprivation, blamed the new guy who’d recently moved into the other side of his house two months earlier… Or, actually, the ever active, very loud baby that had moved in with his neighbor.

Ever since the day when his landlady, or, as Jared often called her, ‘Grandma’ told him she’d rented the other side of the split level house she owned and that Jared lived in and paid rent for, he’d known it could be a problem on a couple levels.

The first was trying to sleep with a baby living on the other side of walls that were not very thick, as Jared discovered, shortly after the first full day of his new neighbors moving in. The child, whom Jared hadn’t actually seen, or the father, so he didn’t even know if it was a boy or girl, had cried on and off all night. That told Jared either the kid didn’t like sleep or it was the most colicky baby in existence.

The second problem was a bit more troublesome and it was the reason why Jared was trying to avoid even meeting the guy and his kid. Jared knew if he had one weakness, it was his soft heart. Certain things triggered that soft heart into overruling his head, including babies, drop dead gorgeous guys with a baby, or a hard life. Those things would instantly trigger Jared’s need to protect and he’d been burned too many times to risk it again.

His grandmother, Evie Padalecki, knew about his infamous soft heart and soft head according to his siblings. She said she’d been wary about renting to the man and child but had given in because she just couldn’t bear to see him taking that poor baby and living in one of those run-down places on the other side of the city. Jared’s nosy but loving grandmother had subtly asked, and it seemed as there was no wife or girlfriend in the picture.

So far Jared had just caught glimpses of the guy either coming or going, and he noticed that when he was home he kept to himself and, in two months, no one had ever visited. At least not when Jared was home, so that made the cop begin to wonder just who’d moved in with a small baby that wouldn’t even have a friend or family come to visit.

Being a cop and also an over watchful person meant that Jared typically kept a close eye on things. Because of this, he’d been able to pick up on a few subtle things. The first was the fact that the guy’s car looked like it was on its last legs. It was an older model Chevy, probably older than Jared himself, and you could see more rust than color on the body. It also had a dangerous sounding miss. Jared had heard the car being started at some ungodly hour and had distantly wondered where in the hell the guy would be taking a baby before six in the morning. The guy hadn’t gotten home until after nine that night… And boy, had that kid cried that night.

He also noticed that most of the groceries that came in was either baby food, formula, diapers, or other stuff for the baby. Jared hadn’t been snooping but he happened to look out the front window, and the guy had left some stuff on the porch when he’d taken the baby inside to get it settled or whatever babies did that never seemed to sleep during the day.

When he started taking his neighbors’ trash to the curb the evening before trash day, Jared felt that the single bag of trash was probably mostly diapers. He began to wonder if the guy even ate. He hardly saw real food being brought in. He’d never once even seen a pizza guy come to the door and he couldn’t recall smelling anything cooking since it was summer and Jared usually had his windows open to relieve some of the heat before he had to break down and turn on the A/C.

So far though, he’d managed to avoid meeting his neighbors but that was about to change. As he laid on his couch wishing for sleep, he heard the car pull into the drive more loudly than normal at… He peeked through heavy eyes to frown when he saw that it was nearly 10:30 at night. This was the latest he’d ever heard the mystery guy come home.

Jared was pushing himself up with an inner warning to not go to the door, to not open the door and most definitely to not go out his door as he heard the baby crying. Jared frowned, however, as he realized this wasn’t the usual crying he heard. No, this was downright sobbing and as he heard the man speak to soothe the upset child, he wondered how much longer before the father began to cry. Jared could just hear the mix of exhaustion, worry, buried anger, and fear in the low, hushed voice.

He heard something hit the porch, and then something else thudded but then this thud broke and when he heard a sudden and very unexpected ‘Fuck!’, he was on his feet and moving. In two months, he’d barely heard the guy talk much less cuss unless it was the morning, the clunker of a car that wouldn’t start, but even then it wasn’t that word.

Jared had been brought up in a well-off, Texas family with a grandmother who was quite strict and stern about foul language. She thought everything had its place and time but that word had been banned in the Padalecki house or else the offender’s mouth tasted like soap for days afterward.

As a cop, foul language was something Jared was fluent in, but even then, he seemed to keep from using that word except in the worst of times, so hearing it now made him concerned.

By the time he got to the door, he could hear how much more upset both baby and father sounded. It seemed like the guy was struggling to get the door open while shushing his child, and suddenly it clicked in Jared’s mind that his own car was also in the driveway so the guy was probably trying to keep the baby from disturbing him.

“Shhh, it’s okay, baby girl. I know you’re tired. So’s Daddy. And I know it’s been a bad day for us, and that you don’t like the new babysitter. I’ll try to find a new one, since I also have to find a new job now. I have to do both before long cause there’s not enough money in the bank to handle rent, bills, and your formula, much less repair that thing that will probably blow up on us one day in the middle of nowhere and… Oh, fuck!”

One of the bags he’d been trying to juggle, along with his bookbag and his daughter, suddenly fell along with a second one. The glass jars could be heard breaking, and the quiet resolve that Jensen Ackles had been maintaining for the last several months broke as well.

The 26 year old had known moving away from his home in San Antonio would be hard but since the choice was to either move or be pressured into giving his baby up, Jensen made the choice to move. He’d known from the second he heard that heartbeat for the first time that he wouldn’t give up his child for love or money.

So, after Piper was born, he’d packed what little he had in his beat-up car and gotten as far as he could from his home, his family, and the jackass who had knocked him up in the first place.

In the space of a year, Jensen had gone from sheltered but trying to get out from under his family’s thumb, to being totally on his own with a six month old daughter. Jensen juggled trying to attend summer college classes at a small community college he’d found in San Rio during the day, and working his ass off in a restaurant waiting tables in the next town to earn money to keep his ever growing daughter in clothes and food.

Jensen had chosen San Rio to be their new home because (a) it had a decent community college and it was large that he wouldn’t be noticed but still small enough to have a nice feel to it and (b) he’d run out of gas and took it as a sign.

They’d spent a couple nights in the car since the weather was warm and he’d been trying to save his money for a down payment for rent or something, so when he’d noticed the ad for this place, he’d called about it.

Jensen wasn’t stupid, despite what people back home thought. He knew that a lot of people still looked down on guys like him. Being gay was hard enough, but being one of the rare kind of guys that could actually get pregnant made things even harder but he’d been lucky so far.

Evie Padalecki was a warm and friendly little old woman with Texas manners down to her ring-covered hand and kind green eyes when she’d played peek-a-boo with a cranky Piper. Jensen could tell the older woman had been hesitant to rent to him and he wasn’t sure for which reason. He hadn’t pushed, however; he’d politely thanked her for her time. He had one other potential place, but it was in a side of San Rio that made his nerves stretch, and it wasn’t his first choice to take his daughter. He also knew he couldn’t keep her in the car too much longer either.

When he’d asked for driving directions to the housing complex, the older woman’s eyes had about bugged out of her head and she’d very simply, very primly said he was not taking ‘this sweet jewel of a child anywhere close to that hellhole of heathens’. She’d slid the keys to the empty side of the house she owned.

The house was a split house that she told him her grandson, her cop grandson, lived in but that he kept crazy, ungodly hours and was hardly home, so Jensen probably would never even see him. So far, in two months, he honestly really hadn’t.

Jensen had caught rare glimpses, either coming or going. For the most part, though, he’d kept to himself and tried to keep Piper quiet but this move was just as hard on his little girl as it was for Jensen. She hadn’t adjusted to sleeping in the new place well, in addition to having colic at night. He’d been waiting for the complaints to start but, so far, nothing.

Either his neighbor was deaf, a dead sleeper, or not home when they were. That wasn’t often, since between school and work, Jensen was never home. He would be home more now since he’d managed to lose his babysitter and his job both in the span of a day and night. The babysitter wasn’t really a tragic loss since Piper hated her anyways and the babysitter hadn’t been nice to her at all. The job, however, was his sole source of income, and he’d lost it due to being tired after weeks of running on little sleep, a hard paper to write, and while being forced to work a double shift, a guy at the restaurant had come on a little too strong.

Jensen was reserved. It had been a huge shame to his well-off, society conscious family back in San Antonio that their youngest son was a shy bookworm who preferred reading and simple things compared to parties, snobbish people, or random sex with hot women.

At 6’1”, with a lean body that was leaner these days despite giving birth, Jensen had been told plenty of times that his rugged good looks made him perfect to marry into one of the other society families. He was too quiet, though, too shy; and his constant refusal to wear contacts over his glasses were an embarrassment… Not as big an embarrassment as when he not only announced he was gay but also pregnant. He was certain he’d never forget the dead silence in his parents’ home that night or the rage that followed.

Tonight he’d been too stressed to deal with the grabby hands and lewd words of a guy that he’d already constantly turned down ever since he was first hired, so when the guy grabbed him. Jensen reacted the way a friend back in high school had taught him and he’d been briefly proud to think that he might have broken the guy’s nose. Or he was before the snooty manager who hadn’t liked him ever since the owner hired him had fired him for not being able to control his violent tendencies.

Jensen resisted the urge to tell her that if he couldn’t control those, he probably would’ve leveled the guy a month earlier when he made the first inappropriate pass. He was able to control himself, though, and had simply taken his meager week’s wages and gone to pick Piper up from the new babysitter they had to find, after the first girl’s parents hadn’t approved of Piper being born to a guy… A gay guy to boot.

Since he’d had to work a double, even before being fired, that put Jensen late so he’d found his daughter already crying in a playpen in a soiled diaper and with an empty bottle. The older man simply said that his daughter wasn’t paid past a certain point.

So now Jensen needed to find a new job and hire a new sitter, all the while going to school and keeping a roof over their heads and food in Piper’s belly. It was only a matter of time before the money given to him by his friend back home ran out, along with the little amount his father had given him when Jensen had refused the demand to abort his child or give her up for adoption.

Right then, all he was trying to do was get through his damn door. He wanted to get his daughter in a soothing bath, feed her, and pray she slept for an hour so he could start looking for want ads over the weekend. He hoped this could be achieved all the while not disturbing the neighbor whose car was actually in the driveway. This let Jensen know that his neighbor was actually home. All of a sudden, the rest of his life seemed to turn against him.

Piper was still screaming and choking out sobs until her chubby cheeks were red. She was usually a happy baby… Well, except for the whole sleeping thing and that night she was tired, hot, hungry, and determined that Daddy know it.

Jensen was shushing Piper as best he could, given that he was one crack away from crying himself. Suddenly, he dropped his keys, and the bag went with it, shattering the jars of baby food inside. Just like that, Jensen’s nerves snapped. All he could do was slide down the wall on the porch. He held his crying and upset daughter to his chest and let out a muffled sob that contained all his worry and frustration.

He couldn’t lose this place. He wouldn’t let anyone tell him what to do or let anyone take Piper away from him. That meant he couldn’t even call Chris and ask for money because if he did, someone back home would find out. Jensen would be getting calls and snide text messages again. He also couldn’t risk Piper’s father finding him because he wasn’t dealing with the asshole. He had made it explicitly clear that he wanted nothing to do with her or him if he kept the unwanted brat.

“Daddy’ll make it better soon, Piper,” he promised between choked tears. “I swear I will. I’ll make this place good for us and we won’t lose it no matter what I have to do. I won’t lose you either, but please… Please, honey, stop crying for one second before someone calls the cops cause they think I’m hurting you or something. I…”

“Hey, you guys okay?”

When Jared heard the broken voice change, he decided his best intentions to steer clear were overruled, and he stepped onto the porch. While Jared might be able to avoid a crying baby, there was no way he could avoid checking on the child’s father, realizing suddenly just how broken and tired he sounded.

He wasn’t sure how long he stood in the doorway, but when the man slid down the wall and just sat there clinging to the baby who was crying and now hiccupping, he figured he should do something or else his grandmother would probably slap him for being rude.

When he spoke, he was careful to keep his voice low and soothing as to not scare either crying person in front of him. Jared had to suddenly blink and swallow hard when he was pinned by two sets of identical, bright green eyes. They were filled with tears, and he watched one set go wide as if surprised to see him.

“Oh my god,” Jensen breathed. His brain had finally clicked and he realized who had spoken. It hit him that this was his neighbor; this was his landlady’s grandson. This was going to be his first real meeting with the man; when he was practically a sobbing, pathetic mess on their shared porch. “You’re… You’re home and we… We probably woke you up.” He cursed himself. He tried to push himself to his feet but his arms were still heavy with the baby, the bags that hadn’t fallen, and his bag of school books. Not only was he off balance but his body was suddenly so tired that he almost fell forward. One strong hand shot out and caught his shoulder while the other gently went to the back of Piper’s head for support.

“Take it easy there.” Jared hadn’t turned the porch light on but he could see with the light from the street. He saw exhaustion and worry and also just the slightest edge of fear. It was the last one that warned him to be more cautious than he already planned to be. “It’s fine.”

Jensen could feel panic bubbling up like it always did when he was in a situation that could turn bad. He started to ramble, anything to keep himself calm. “No, no. Mrs. Padalecki said her grandson was a cop who kept crazy hours. And who was cranky and grumpy and didn’t really care for kids, so I’ve tried to not bother you and I apologize now if Piper keeps you awake. I know she cries so much at night and tonight it’s all just… Crap, I’m sorry. You don’t care about all of this. As soon as I manage to get her inside and into a bath, she should settle down and…”

“Well, most of that’s right.” Jared had to blink several times at the rush of words and the refreshing honesty he saw in those deep, worried eyes. The way Jensen acted made Jared think that his grandmother, who was normally level-headed, had told Jensen that he didn’t like kids. “I am a cop. I do live some crazy hours as you’ve probably noticed, since we’ve never actually met face to face before now. And I can be a little cranky depending on the day I’ve had, but… I don’t dislike kids. I actually adore them.” He offered his best dimpled smile in the hopes of reassuring the man who he could still feel shaking under his hand. “In fact, if I show you my badge and swear on a stack of Bibles that I’m not a pervert or someone with evil intent…Will you let me hold her long enough for you to get the door open and bring this stuff inside?”

Before Jared had stepped out of the doorway, he’d spent some time listening to and observing the pair. A little common sense gave him a clue that the baby must be a girl. Well, that and those big eyes, soft chubby cheeks, and pink ribbon in fine blonde hair. He guessed she must have gotten that from her father as well.

It was clear to the cop that the father was wary about handing his child off to a complete stranger. Jared really appreciated that caution in today’s world of crazies but he also recognized the signs of too much stress on narrow shoulders. Being cautious, he decided to ease into this slowly and that meant actually learning this guy’s name.

“I’m Jared, by the way. In case my grandmother never told you my name and just what I did for a living. She was never too big on the details.” He slowly moved the hand away from the baby but kept his other on a tight shoulder. “She didn’t tell me your name so… What can I call you?”

“Besides a pain in the neck who’s keeping you awake?” Jensen winced at the bitterness in his voice but he’d already been told so many times what a hassle he was. This time was worse but when he realized the man, who he actually had to look up a little to see into his eyes, didn’t appear to be angry or anything, he slowly took a shaky breath. “Jensen,” he finally replied. “Jensen Ackles and this,” he wiggled the baby, who was still hiccupping but not sobbing quite so hard. “…is Piper. And we are both not usually this much of a mess but… it’s… been a bad night and she’s tired and hungry.”

“So we’d better get her inside so she can eat,” Jared offered a soothing smile that he found he meant. When Jensen offered a small, nearly shy smile, he could literally hear the brick walls start to crumble around his heart a. “Do you want to risk me taking her or the bags? I swear I won’t drop either.”

“Oh, I’ve probably already broken everything that can be broken but…” Jensen paused another second and eyed the man. He knew he would be taking a huge chance. He almost never allowed anyone new to hold or touch Piper but during the last few minutes, Jensen noticed his daughter’s sobbing had lessened, almost as if she was curious. Curious about this new voice who spoke with a deep drawl that Jensen knew could turn his nerves to mush if he wasn’t careful. “If you could just hold her until I find the keys and unlock the door, I’d appreciate it. I’m sorry.” He carefully passed Piper into the waiting arms and automatically went to adjust the hold only to see that Jared seemed to already know how to hold a baby. “Umm, you have kids?” he asked and then could’ve kicked himself for prying. “Sorry. That’s rude and so not any of my business but it’s like you knew how to hold her. Most people look at her like she’s a sack of potatoes or something.”

Jared’s smile actually grew more as he cradled the warm little body in her light pink and white onesie to his chest like his sister had taught him to do with her first child. “No, but I have nieces and nephews and a hyper sister who thought for sure I’d drop her first son if she didn’t give me a crash course in baby 101,” he grinned. He pressed his nose into the soft face who seemed to be curious about him. Jared was shocked that the change in arms didn’t have her screaming bloody murder again. “Well, hi there, sweet pea,” he greeted the child softly. Letting his finger caress her soft blonde hair, Jared saw that her eyes were heavy and it was pretty clear to him that this was one unhappy baby but she was only sniffling now. “Aren’t you a pretty little girl? You will break hearts one day.”

Once Jensen turned to snatch the keys and unlock the door, he closed his eyes. It was so hard to let his guard down but this guy, Jared, might make it harder. No one, not even the few friends he still had back in San Antonio, had ever spoken to Piper like that. It hurt him so much that people didn’t see what he did when they looked at his daughter.

Unlocking the door, Jensen reached in to turn on the lights in the small hallway. He adjusted the bags he still held before picking up the ones he’d dropped. He inwardly winced at the broken glass and knew the baby food he’d just bought was probably ruined.

“Umm, she has a little seat on the counter there you can sit her in.” Jensen knew that Jared was following him through the house to go into the kitchen by the sound of Jared cooing back at the baby who was now gurgling. “I… I appreciate you holding her and I promise to keep her quiet so you can sleep.”

Jared, even before becoming a cop, had always been a sharp-eyed kid. He noticed things other people might not or wouldn’t think to look for. As he followed Jensen through the house, those sharp eyes caught quite a few things.

He knew that Jensen’s side was basically set up the same as his, so he knew where the kitchen would be. He was a little surprised to see that most of the furniture he saw was stuff for the baby. A swing that had seen better days, a small play area that must double as a bed for naps, and something that he thought should have wheels.

The sofa against the wall looked ragged with holes in the covering. It was covered in what looked like a sheet. The only decent chair in the room was an overstuffed, pale blue chair that was placed between two windows so that any air blowing in the evening would cool them, if this is indeed where Jensen would sit with his child.

A part of Jared was suddenly getting a little concerned and he wished he’d pushed his grandmother for details on this little family. He planned to soon.

It had been a hot, humid day. The house was steaming but instead of flipping on the switch that controlled the A/C, Jensen opened the window over the sink and the glass on the back door, all the while giving a sad, little look to the bags with broken glass and throwing them in the garbage. He’d figure out how to replace those jars in the morning. He knew he had enough to feed Piper tonight and all of tomorrow.

Jensen nearly forgot about the virtual stranger in his home. Eventually, he turned around and, as his tired eyes widened, he suddenly found himself needing to lean against the sink at the sight of this tall, handsome, dimpled man holding and jiggling his daughter. Piper, bless her little heart, had forgotten all about the badness of the night and was giving Jared her rarest smile while sticky hands reached for his face.

Jensen had learned the hard way that pretty faces could still have dark hearts, and he inwardly reminded himself even as the sight of his neighbor now had his nerves kicking in. He was also reminding himself of the last time he’d even looked at a guy in any way but suspiciously or mistrustful. He’d been used before and, these days, as soon as someone learned about Piper, he was immediately considered a whore and a freak.

“Hmmm, you taste like strawberry jam.” Jared was already halfway certain his heart was lost to this baby when she let out her first giggle and smiled at him. He could feel the tension and worry from her father across the room and guessed it would take Jensen longer to warm up to him. His cop senses were screaming that this young man hadn’t had a very easy life or that something had happened that made him skittish.

“I… I had to give her something in the car and she likes jam, so…” Jensen ran his fingers through short, dark blond hair while pushing his glasses up. He squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Sorry again. You probably don’t want to know that. I’ll just take her so you can…”

“Jensen.” Jared didn’t stop the man from taking back the baby, who was suddenly squirming. He did place his hand on his arm again, and felt the tension there. “I know we just met. That’s my fault. I should’ve come over sooner to introduce myself… But I want you to know that whatever it is that’s making you uptight around me, you don’t have to be… Unless you’re a criminal with a rap sheet longer than my arm, then that could be a problem.”

Jensen nuzzled the soft skin of Piper’s cheek; a habit he did when needing to center himself. He knew he was overreacting. He knew that Jared was just being nice. Given that the guy probably hadn’t gotten a decent night’s sleep in two months, he appreciated that but it was so hard to trust after so many letdowns.

“No… No rap sheets, but...” He shifted to place Piper in her seat, and began to remove her small sandals. He took a deep breath. He wanted to stay in this house. He liked it; Piper liked it, or seemed to. And while Evie knew about their situation, Jensen wasn’t sure what she’d told her grandson. Jensen wasn’t sure if Jared would want him living next door if he knew the truth… But Jensen had made a vow to not hide anything about him, so that meant finding out now just what his opinion would be. “Did… your… Mrs. Padalecki tell you anything about us?” he asked warily, fingers starting to shake. It wasn’t easy working on the tiny buttons which was made harder when his daughter suddenly decided she didn’t want in her seat. Instead, she wanted the guy still standing behind him.

“Are you kidding?” Jared snorted with a light laugh. Jared stepped just close enough to catch one tiny waving hand in two fingers in the hopes that if she held still, her father’s hands might stop shaking. He wasn’t sure if it was his presence or where the conversation was leading to that was making him shake. “Trying to get information outta that woman is harder than breaking a crook down. I have an easier time getting details out of a lawyer or doctor than I do my own grandmother.” He made silly faces at the baby while eyeing the way Jensen was chewing his lip. “The only thing she told me was to keep my blaring music down so I didn’t disturb the precious little jewel next door. I guess she meant you, sweet pea,” he winked at the giggling baby. “Is there something you think I should know that’s got you shakin’, Jensen?”

Once the onesie was off and Piper was only in her diaper, Jensen hesitated a second before reaching up into a cabinet to grab one of the few jars of baby food. He silently prayed Jared didn’t notice how little he had. The last thing he needed to worry about was a cop thinking he couldn’t provide for his child. He’d already had enough dealings with CPS before moving here, thanks to his goddamn parents.

“Tell Daddy you want jam,” Jared whispered to the baby and Jensen couldn’t help but smile a little more. He knew his daughter would only be too happy to eat jam of any flavor any time, day or night.

“She can have jam for a snack tomorrow but tonight it’s a little strained peaches before bath, and then bottle and… Well, hopefully bed.” Jensen could only pray she slept for a little while tonight. He needed to find a new job and maybe sleep a little bit himself but that was usually secondary on his list of things to do.

Right now he needed to work up the guts to tell Jared something. What Jensen had to say could make them lose their home but he couldn’t risk the man learning about him through rumors. “Well… Ummm, I know you’re a cop so you could probably find out about me just by running my name but I’ll just tell you the two biggest things. That way if you don’t approve of it or like us, then… I can start looking for a cheap place. I think it might be why Miss Evie was wary about renting to me. She was too kind to say it but I could’ve told her that Piper and I have been called every name in the book. It stops hurting after you hear it from your own folks.”

Jared frowned at what Jensen was saying, and wondered if he realized how sad he sounded or how much he was shaking. Jensen was trembling as he reached for a small spoon. He began feeding little spoonfuls of whatever that was supposed to be to the baby. It certainly didn’t look like peaches to him.

He was surprised at the small spurt of anger he felt at the thought of anyone calling this man or his beautiful baby anything. He was surprised why they even should but he kept his mouth shut to see what Jensen would say next.

“So, I’m originally from San Antonio. You might’ve heard of my last name since it’s been associated with oil up there for a few generations,” Jensen began slowly, calming down slightly as he fed his daughter. He loved watching her face as she ate.

He could feel Jared’s closeness and wondered if it was that or the kitchen, still steamy, that was making his breath speed up. He shook that off to focus on what he was saying. “Anyway, I could bore you with the whole tale of how and why I was basically disowned because I wouldn’t give up or let them abort my baby, but you probably don’t care and the two things I need you to know… The two things that always change how people look at us is… I’m gay and… She’s my daughter.” Jensen winced when he saw Jared’s brow was crinkled in confusion. He knew he needed to make that last one a bit clearer, according to Jared’s facial expression.

“Uhhh, yeah, I guessed that by the matching eyes and nose.” Jared was slightly shocked to learn that this handsome man was gay, mainly because that admission just tripled how screwed he was. Living next door to a drop dead gorgeous guy, even one as shy and wary as Jensen, was simple… so long as Jared thought he was straight with a few dozen hot women trailing in his wake, or the mother of the adorable little one… The way Jensen said the last sentence began to settle over him and other pieces began to click.

Jared came from a family with six sisters. He’d watched Brie when she had her first one. He’d seen how protective of Noah she’d been, how guarded she was, and the tone in which she would say ‘my son’. He realized he’d just heard that same protective, proud, but still worried tone in Jensen’s voice. When Jensen laid a hand over Piper’s little chest while saying ‘my daughter’, Jared recognized how he spoke of people wanting to abort ‘my baby’ and suddenly he understood what might be scaring Jensen.

Jensen had watched the wide open face closely as he’d learned to do. He saw the confusion slowly morph into something else. The man must have figured it out on his own because he did see shock there; it was quickly gone but Jensen had seen it, and he knew the reaction that would come next.

Confrontations were things Jensen normally avoided. He’d hated them growing up and he’d tried to give people what they wanted or expected of him in order to avoid them. After learning that the only result was him being walked on and used, the young Texan was learning to stand up for himself… Right at this moment, he swore his kitchen was moving.

He’d gotten used to the shock and then the mocking but he would not allow it in front of his child. With more courage than he expected to have, he placed himself between Jared and Piper and forced himself to meet the deep hazel eyes of a guy a little taller and wider than he was.

“I… I get that the one might not be so out of the ordinary, even in Texas, but the last one… I know that it probably disgusts you to look at me now, or to think what it makes me that I gave birth to Piper. I do. I do get it and I know that’s why your grandmother probably didn’t want to rent this place to me. I’ll… I’ll start looking for a new place along with a job tomorrow because I know you don’t want to live next door to a freak or his bastard mistake.” Jensen’s head was buzzing so loud but he focused on protecting his daughter. He missed the flash of heat that passed through Jared’s eyes. Jared was so angry at the thought of people calling Jensen and his daughter filthy words so many times ever since Jensen had learned he was actually pregnant.

Seeing Jared tense had Jensen stepping forward to press a hand to his chest, as if to keep him from moving forward. “I know this is your grandmother’s house so I can’t tell you what to do in it. But if you want to yell or call me every filthy name you’re thinking of, or…hit me then you do it outside or out of the kitchen. While I can’t stop her from hearing what people call me or her, I will be damned if I will ever let her see another man raise his hand to me.” Jensen wasn’t aware when his fingers fisted into Jared’s shirt or how rapidly his eyes were blinking. His heart pounded in his buzzing head, and slowly started feeling like the kitchen was closing in around him. “I’ve been a punching bag before but I swore the day she was put in my arms, I’d never let her see me be hit so you can… whoa… I’m… When’d it get cold?”

Jared had been torn between being amused at the hand on his chest, being pissed at the thought of anyone touching Jensen to hurt him, to angry that the man would think he’d react like that without even giving him a chance to explain. All of those feelings, however, fled when he realized how pale Jensen had suddenly become, how big his eyes were, how fast his heart was beating through his ragged and worn t-shirt, and also how cold the hands fisted in his shirt had just gotten.

“Jensen?” He moved to touch his arm, when the other man suddenly jerked back as if expecting a blow. “Wait a second… Calm down and let me…Damn it. Jen!”

Jensen jerked from the hand that he expected to hit him. Tom sure as hell had done a good job of showing him what a well-placed slap could do. He knew his first duty was to protect his baby but when he went to face Jared again, all he saw were stars as the kitchen spun quickly. Before he could move to grab onto something, Jensen felt his wobbly legs suddenly going out from under him.

He dimly thought he heard Jared yell for him and he knew he heard Piper let out a sudden cry. Jensen was helpless to do anything right then but fall into the darkness, with the silent hope that while Jared wouldn’t hurt his daughter, even if Jared might hate him now.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Baby Steps**

**Chapter Two**

“I seriously don’t care what your daddy says. This does not taste anything like peaches. Even mashed peaches should taste like…Oh my God, this green one looks evil and… You know what? I have a food processor. I’m buying peaches and blending them up for you, Piper. Or bananas. Do you like those, sweet pea? I like those. Maybe we can mash those up with some strawberry jam or chocolate… If you’re allowed to have chocolate, and if your daddy doesn’t just kick my butt outta here when he finally opens those big, green eyes you guys share. You waking up yet, Jensen? I’m seriously running out of child-friendly things to talk to your daughter about and I think she’s making fun of me.”

Cool air blew over Jensen as he felt his mind slowly starting to wake up. His brain was still fuzzy and confused as to what had just happened. He didn’t think he’d gone to bed since he hadn’t given Piper her bath yet. He’d been too busy worrying about...

“Crap! Oh… God.” Jensen tried to sit up, open his eyes, and find his daughter all in the same second. The only thing that did was cause nausea to roll dangerously in his stomach. His eyes started to gray out when he felt a gentle hand on his wrist… A hand that was much larger than Piper’s and the voice he’d heard speaking on and off came back to him. “J-Jared?”

He remembered getting fired, he remembered both him and his daughter melting down at their front door. He remembered meeting his neighbor and also revealing his two biggest secrets.

Jensen laid still. Wherever he was laying was soft and lumpy, so he guessed it was the worn out sofa he’d gotten third-hand after moving to Sam Rio. He wasn’t sure if the steamy house, the stress of losing his job, his babysitter, and now possibly his home had just been too much, and he’d passed out as a result. On top of that, he’s hardly been sleeping or eating.

“See, sweet pea? Daddy’s waking up now, like I told you he would. He just got scared I would react wrong. He got too hot and shook up from earlier and had to take a little nap.” When Jensen suddenly passed out, Jared had carefully put Piper in her baby seat and laid Jensen on his couch. He barely survived giving Piper a bath, and managed to make a diaper stay on her when they were done. When she was dressed, Jared sat and played with her for 45 minutes on the floor in front of the sofa. “Hey there,” he murmured softly. He watched Jensen’s long lashes flutter a few times, then open to show green eyes filled with exhaustion and confusion. “I’ve been a cop a few years now but, I gotta admit, I’ve never been as scared as I was when your eyes rolled back before you almost hit the floor.”

“I’m… sorry,” Jensen mumbled, trying to push up and get his baby, only to feel a hand on his shoulder before a small warm body that smelled of lilacs and baby powder was laid over his chest. Just like that, all of his worries were erased, at least for this second. “Th-thanks for staying with her. I… didn’t mean to pass out or… That’s not the wind making it so cool in here.” He nuzzled soft hair, so like his own. He tried to open his eyes enough to see the man who’d taken care of Piper… and him, too, it seemed.

Jared made sure Jensen was awake fully or enough to hold the baby, before getting to his knees. He kneeled beside a sofa that had seen better days about 100 years ago and cleared his throat. “No, I… turned the A/C on to get the place cooled down for both of you.” He was quick to lay his hand on the one that was gently cradling Piper’s neck. She seemed content enough to lay on her daddy’s chest. “It’s cool.”

“No, I can’t… I can’t use it cause that’ll raise the electric bill too much, and…” Jensen felt his chest tighten again but then found himself blinking at the squeeze of fingers over his wrist.

“Didn’t Grams tell you? The electric is figured into the rent so it doesn’t matter what the bill is. If you run the A/C to keep the place cool enough to the point that you and Piper don’t cook, you can” Jared replied. He silently prayed that the man wasn’t clear-headed enough to realize how big a lie that was. Jared hoped Jensen would at least wait to call him on it until after Jared had a chance to call his grandmother about a few changes.

“That’ll… Won’t that raise the rent?” Jensen was suddenly so tired and just the blissful feeling of cool air made it seem better even though he knew it wasn’t. “I mean, I know she cut me as much a deal on this place as she could but… if it goes up, I…”

While Jensen was passed out, Jared had taken the time to reflect on what he knew, what he suspected, and what he’d be finding out soon. The one thing he’d figured out by both what Jensen had rambled before and now and also by what he’d noticed when trying to see what other baby food was available or if there was a pre-mixed formula or just milk or something in a bottle was that money was a definite issue for this proud young father.

Now that he figured that out and had seen the contents of the worn out refrigerator, it made sense to Jared why the trash was so light. It made him wonder what the hell Jensen ate since it looked like anything that came into this house was for Piper.

“No, the rent won’t go up.” Jared would make sure of that, as well as a few other things. “She was sick this past winter, so a lot of things that should’ve been done hadn’t been finished before she could rent this side. I’m sure she’s just waiting for you to get settled before bringing it up.” He grinned calmly and felt a little ball of worry unknot in his belly when Jensen slowly smiled… and then that damn flash of worry came back.

“But you… I told you and…” Jensen’s other arm moved closer to hold his daughter. He tried to figure out why the baby powder smell was so strong. “You probably don’t want us next door, and…”

Jared pushed up from the floor and sat on the edge of the sofa. He was relieved that while Jensen tensed, it was just briefly. Once he saw that Jared wasn’t going to hurt either of them, he relaxed. “Is that what freaked you out in the kitchen?” Jared thought it might be. If the only thing Jensen had experienced due to not only his lifestyle choice, but also a rare gene allowing him to bear children, was hate and abuse, Jared guessed he could understand his silence. “No. No, Jensen. That’s not what I want you to think because that’s not at all what I was thinking. It took me off guard but- Hey. C’mon now, sugar, look at me.”

Jensen was so taken off guard. Once strangers and even a few friends learned about him, all of them reacted badly. Jensen was expecting Jared to react the same way but he noticed that the man actually wasn’t. Now Jensen was more confused than ever. When Jared had casually used the nickname, Jensen experienced an odd feeling in his belly, and couldn’t decide if it was good or bad. It had been so long since anyone talked to him in that way. Jensen knew he needed to get a handle on his emotions before he started falling for a guy so far out of his league.

“The whole gay thing only shook me because it blew to bits my reason to not think you are ridiculously hot. If I thought you had a girlfriend or a bunch of girls, then it would make it easier for me to casually be friends while I spoil your kid.” Jared’s dimples flashed and he lightly traced a finger down baby soft hair. “That could be complicated since I do think you’re ridiculously hot, and you’re gay and I’m gay… Please don’t pass out on me again,” he pleaded when he heard a soft inhale. Jensen’s green eyes went huge in surprise. “Now, who’s shocked?”

Jensen was shocked. From the second he’d laid eyes fully on Jared earlier that night, it had never once crossed his mind that the tall, muscular, young man with long, dark hair, a bright smile, and a sexy drawl could be gay. Jensen also knew he was a cop. He worked to calm himself down from the initial shock. His body reacted when he heard that Jared might find him attractive. Jensen had long given up thinking of himself as good-looking, despite whispers he’d heard from the other waitresses at the restaurant saying otherwise.

“I’m not,” he whispered, lightly kissing the top of Piper’s head. He swore even her hair smelled like baby powder and began to get curious.

“You’re not what?” Jared moved so Jensen could sit up with the baby snuggled against his chest. Jared knew, from the moment she smiled at him, that his heart was lost to Piper. Seeing what father and daughter did together, however, confirmed in Jared’s heart that he was already too far gone, and that did scare him.

“What you said I was.” Even saying the word made Jensen uneasy. He gasped at the feel of fingers lifting his chin up, and he met serious eyes. This was the first time he realized that there were flecks of gold and blue in those deep, hazel eyes. Jensen suddenly had to swallow.

“Ridiculously hot?” Jared smiled and silently asked himself when was the last time this man had ever been told how good looking he was. “You are but it might take me some work to convince you of that. It’s probably been awhile since someone looked at you like you deserved to be looked at. Now, I would’ve put her to bed after I gave her a bath and got step by step directions from my one sister on how to get that diaper to actually stay on her but… I couldn’t find her bed.”

Jensen was still in shock that Jared thought he was hot. He frowned a little. “Umm, it’s the pink bassinet in my room which is the only room with furniture,” he admitted while kissing a little hand. “You… gave her a bath?”

Jared was glad that Jensen’s attention was on his daughter and not his face. He missed the look of open-mouthed shock when he saw a raggedy-looking wicker bassinet that barely still held together. That was where Piper slept? He was quick to cover his face so the other man wouldn’t think he found it lacking.

“Yeah, after I got you off the floor and onto the sofa, she was fussy and I figure pretty scared so I found what I hope was a baby tub and we managed not to flood the kitchen but…” Jared coughed uneasily, and stood when Jensen did. “…that bottle of baby powder? It’s possessed and I swear it attacked us. So…she might smell overly powdery. Is that bassinet thing safe?” He had to ask or it would bug him.

Motioning to let Jared know it was okay to follow him upstairs, Jensen ducked his head as he stepped into what looked to be the beginnings of a master bedroom. When he’d stepped in the room, he noticed that the floor next to the changing table was indeed covered in powder.

“When she was born, I’d already been disowned and her… The guy who… Well, anyway, he’d made his choice, too, since I stood up for myself and my child. A lady in the building I lived in was throwing it out so I took it, painted it, and it’s worked.” It was hard to look at Jared when he admitted that. He’d learned a long time ago, though, that if he wanted Piper, then he’d have to struggle along as best he could, so long as she was safe, protected, and had a full belly. “Usually she sleeps with me. Now that it’s getting hot, I was planning on sleeping in the front room and she could sleep in her playpen since it has this thing that attaches for naptime. It’s good because my only friend left from high school bought it for her and... I keep rambling about stuff you really probably don’t want to know. I’m-”

A finger touched his lips to stop the apology. “You’ll be surprised at what I want to know about you, Jensen,” Jared smiled. He saw Jensen’s eyes were still wary and reminded himself that he needed to take baby steps so he didn’t scare the man away. “She okay?”

The big bed had already been here when Jensen and Piper moved in. As he placed her in the center and put pillows around her to cradle her, he noticed the A/C in the bedroom was cool. He looked at his daughter, whom appeared to be fully asleep. Her long lashes were still and her tiny hand was curled under her chin. It never ceased to amaze him that, despite all the fighting, the bitterness, and the anger, this perfect, innocent, little girl had come from him.

“Yeah, I guess she was pretty tired from crying for so long, and… Um, I hate to ask but did you give her a bottle?” Jensen inwardly winced. He guessed that by now, Jared had surmised just how bad off they really were since the only things in the refrigerator were bottles of milk, some packs of hot dogs, and a bottle of medicine for Piper’s ear infection she had before moving.

“Yep and managed to burp her without losing a shirt.” Jared seemed proud of that but then he caught the nervous movements of Jensen’s hands, and reached to take them in his. “Hey, no judgment here, Jen.” He saw the look of surprise the nickname brought, and he could have slapped himself for going too fast. “Sorry. I’m really not pushing. According to my mother, I often don’t think before I talk, so if I ever say anything wrong or upsetting, just tell me.”

“No, it’s just… No one’s ever called me that before.” Jensen hated pet names like sweetie or honey-pie but so far, the two that Jared used tonight hadn’t bothered him. He realized that maybe it was just the people who’d used those names before that had been the cause of his dislike for the names. “This is… This is so hard for me to accept because if even people don’t outwardly react when they see me and Piper, they still act weird or cast looks that they think I don’t see. You… You’re still… I mean, I was actually pretty rude earlier and I assumed you would be like everyone else, yet you stayed with Piper, and you fed her and gave her a bath and even changed her and-”

“Well, she was hungry so, yeah, common sense said I’d feed her… Though we need to have a talk about what that food is. I tasted it and that does not taste like peaches.” Jared made a face as they moved back downstairs. The cop forced himself to watch what he said or did now, since there was no baby between them and it was clear to both men that there was an attraction. “Then a bath was needed because I wasn’t feeding her fast enough and she decided to do it herself with her hands. But the powder thing was not our fault. That bottle was possessed and… You grinning at me cause I had a bottle of baby powder attack me, sugar?” Jared felt another chunk of that wall crumble. Jared knew that if his heart flipped at a tiny, amused grin, he’d be lost if he ever got Jensen to actually relax and smile at him fully.

“No, I’m grinning because you saw a hungry baby and cared enough to feed her and then bathed her. Then fighting with the diapers that, after six months, still seem like a complex thing to me. When I think I have it hooked, she crawls out of the thing.” Jensen honestly couldn’t recall ever meeting anyone like Jared before.

“I was fired tonight after being forced to do a double shift waiting tables where I work at the place over in the next town. Because I worked a double, I was late picking up Piper from a new babysitter I’d found in a hurry.” The young father was slightly more nervous as he realized this would be his first actual conversation with another adult, with an attractive, male adult in well over a year. “I’d called her to tell her I would be late. Apparently, that didn’t matter because she’d stopped taking care of Piper after her normal time, so when I got there, my baby girl was crying. She was hungry, her diaper was wet and dirty, and all the toys had been put away in her bag. She looked so scared, hungry, and confused. Not everyone sees things like you, Jared.

“You see Piper like she is. You see a baby. Others, especially those who learn that I gave birth to her, see an object to be stared at or a byproduct of an immoral act, since gays are still often looked down on. They don’t pause to consider that there might have been more to it, or that I…” Jensen suddenly realized he was about to go too far, and stopped abruptly. He racked his brains, trying to think of a safer topic; a topic that led away from his past. Before he could, strong but tender fingers were on his shoulder. “Jared… Please.”All the while Jensen was talking, Jared went back and forth between forcing himself to remain calm despite his building anger at the so-called babysitter, to debating the best way to wheedle the name out of Jensen. One of the good things about being a cop in San Rio, and about being raised in San Rio, is Jared had friends in nearly every aspect of the police department. He knew people in the traffic department that could make life a living hell for this little bitch who dared treat sweet little Piper like that. Despite having all this on his mind, he didn’t miss the abrupt stop in Jensen’s voice and the danger signs along with fury lit a slow fuse.

The soft plea told him there was so much more to this handsome young man, and Jared wasn’t as dense or stupid as people liked to say he was. He caught the tension again in Jensen and also the need to close in on himself to protect… To forget.

“I won’t ask, I won’t press,” Jared told him softly. He let his hand stay loose on the tight shoulder as he stepped a little closer but not close enough to make Jensen feel trapped. “The cop in me wants to. The man in me that hates to see whatever causes those shadows in your eyes. Right now, though, the only thing I will ask is…are you and Piper safe now?”

Jensen swallowed thickly and fought the urge to lean against the hard chest he sensed was close behind him. He still resisted trusting anyone, much less a man he thought he could fall for. “His only interest in her would be if he thought it would hurt me.” He replied only after he was sure he could speak without his voice shaking, despite the support he could hear being silently offered. “I… It’s too soon for me to try and explain about him. Is that-”

“Shhh,” Jared gently turned Jensen to face him and very slowly, very carefully brushed his fingers over pale cheeks. “I said I wouldn’t push and I won’t. You can tell me what you want me to know in your own time. I just want you to know that I am not like those people who’ve judged or hurt you or that sweet little girl. I want to be your friend, Jensen,” he paused to see the brief curious look reflected in deep green and smiled. “Alright, I’ll admit that I hope one day after building a friendship, maybe we could see about being more but that’s totally up to you. Now, I’m gonna get going so you can sleep while Piper’s sleeping.”

“Oh, no, I have to start hunting up a new job and then…” Jensen never even thought about sleep despite how his eyes kept blurring out of focus. He didn’t even realize how tired he might be until he blinked at the feel of a warm palm on his cheek.

“Jensen, you’re dead on your feet. You’ve probably had just as hard a day as Piper has and yours probably didn’t include naps. I’m off for the next few days myself, so I can help you look for jobs or watch Sweet Pea while you go put in applications or whatever you need to do. Tonight… Go up, hold your daughter, and sleep,” Jared didn’t hear his voice drop low; his focus was on the sleepy, worn out man in front of him. “If you don’t sleep then I probably won’t sleep and then Piper will probably be crawling over both of us when we crash.”

Jensen’s lips curved at the image. He finally admitted that he was bone tired to the point where he was worried he might not be able to give his daughter the attention she needed. He reluctantly nodded. “Alright, I’ll sleep or try to,” he conceded. His heart jumped at the bright happy smile Jared gave him. “Will I… we... see you this weekend?” He blamed the lame question to being tired. He shivered when long fingers trailed down his cheek before Jared slowly stepped away.

“Piper and I have a date with my food processor and some bananas so yeah, you will definitely be seeing me.” Jared had to force his legs to move to the door. He knew he needed to get out before he crossed a line he’d drawn himself. “It’ll be in the afternoon but if you need me to pick up anything, I’ll be in town I left my cell number on the counter in the kitchen just in case.”

“No, I…” Jensen started to object but stopped when Jared lifted his brow. He had a brief inner war with his pride and need to make it on his own. “Jared, I… You have to understand that it’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer because I do. Hell, I appreciate it more than you could ever know but… For the last year, I’ve been forced to depend on myself. I learned the hard way that if someone does anything for you, they’ll want something in return and-”

“I’m not those people, Jen.” Jared paused at the door to look back. “Anything that I do for you or Piper will be because I want to or you need it. I won’t expect anything back. In fact… Just so we can avoid any fights about it later on… I won’t accept anything back for things I do or stuff I might bring by. It’s important to me that you understand that before anything happens between us.” He stepped out onto the porch and turned back to the screen door. “Go to sleep and I’ll see you later today.”

Jensen nodded. He was unsure what to say so he kept silent. Once he heard Jared’s door shut, he closed and locked his door, leaning against it with a sigh. “Please don’t let this go wrong,” he whispered to the silent house. He climbed the steps to his room and when he got to his room, he stood in the doorway to watch his sleeping baby. He saw that she was still sound asleep and smiling.

“So… What do you think, baby girl?” he asked in a whisper. His lips caressed her cheek before he laid down and carefully lay his arm around her. “Maybe we’ve actually found a friend who doesn’t care about Daddy’s past. I just hope it lasts.”

As Jensen was falling asleep next door, Jared stretched back out on his sofa and stared at the wall ahead of him; the wall that was next to Jensen’s side of the house. As he closed his eyes to find a few hours of sleep, the Texan cop started making plans to see what he could do to help the small family he’d just met, but already knew he was falling for. The first of those involved paying a visit to his grandmother. He would do that when he woke up. He would see how much stuff he’d have to agree to do for her in order to make a few changes to Jensen’s lease.

 **TBC**  


	3. Chapter 3

**Baby Steps**

**Chapter Three**

“Excuse me? You want me to do what?” Evie Padalecki lifted her head to stare at her grandson and shielded her eyes from the late morning sun as she weeded her garden.

“Put the electric bill for Jensen’s place in your name and when it comes, just tell me and I’ll pay it. That way it’ll look like the electric goes with the rent and… Maybe lower his and raise mine.” Jared knew how crazy his suggestions sounded but he’d spent a good part of the night before thinking about the best way to help his new friend while trying not to offend him. “Oh… and maybe spring for a new fridge and stove. And if he asks, just tell him you haven’t finished fixing it up before renting, since I might’ve said you’re also putting in new carpeting and… stuff?” He shot his best innocent smile.

At nearly 78 years old, Evie had survived a lot including some hard times before her husband finally got lucky in both oil and cattle. She’d managed to raise five children with only a few gray strands in her rust colored, tinted hair. She had numerous grandchildren and a few great-grandchildren by now but the one that never failed to both surprise and exasperate her was the one standing in her garden this bright Saturday morning.

Most of her children and grandchildren were content with either working in various family holdings or making a living for themselves as lawyers or doctors or some other safe and sane profession. Her Jared had always been different and had decided early on that he wanted to be a police officer so, when he graduated high school and immediately enrolled in the Police Academy in Dallas, Evie knew the family mostly humored Jared.

As the only son to her eldest son, the matriarch of the family knew most of them believed it was a fad or a silly hobby; along with what else made Jared different but she knew differently. Evie knew that whatever Jared made up his mind to do, he would do; but she also knew he was still a soft-hearted boy where it counted. That had been her reason for hesitating to rent to the quiet young man with the baby who’d come to her door one day. She’d known the moment Jared saw him, saw that baby, his heart… A heart that had already been bruised many times in his life, would be lost.

Now as she listened to him talk, she guessed that he must have finally met his neighbors, and she was curious why he was asking for all of this to be done. “Why would I make repairs that aren’t needed or do things to that side when I haven’t done them to the side you live in?” she inquired curiously, slapping his fingers away from what he thought was a weed but she knew was a bloom to her pepper plant.

“Because I’ve already fixed what needed fixing in my place,” he replied easily. “I care about what Jensen and Piper’s place needs fixing. Even if it might not be vital right now, those things still need to be done.” Jared knelt down to look into his grandmother’s face. “I have a list. It doesn’t all have to be done at once or else he’ll get suspicious and then probably defensive. The big thing is getting that electric into your name or my name cause it’s hot and he won’t use the A/C cause it’ll raise the bill… and… Lower his rent some?”

“You want me to lower his rent but raise yours?” Evie stood easily and moved to a table on the patio behind the large house outside of San Rio that had been in the Padalecki family for generations. “How does that make sense in that brain of yours, Jared?” she asked. “I already knocked the rent down to the point where your father and uncle think I’m getting soft.”

“Yeah, but if you raise mine it’ll cover the difference,” Jared countered as he knew how his father’s sharp brain worked. He pulled out a seat to sit closer to her. “Grams, he’s… Even before some jackass fired him last night he was struggling. He’s making enough to pay the rent, the bills, and buy stuff for the baby, but Lord knows how he’s getting by on hot dogs. I think I also saw a box of crackers.” He didn’t want to say too much but he also wasn’t above hitting the older woman in the soft heart that he got from her to begin with. “Did you not want to rent to him because you knew he was gay and had a baby? Was it because you knew I’d take one look at them and fall hard?”

Evie snorted softly. She pulled off her gardening gloves to pour some tea for them. She saw the bottle of water Jared had, so she just poured some for herself. “You’re gay so why would it matter to me if he was?” She chided, frowning at his look. “Jared Tristan Padalecki, you know damn good and well that I don’t care what that boy does in his personal life, so long as it’s not dangerous, and it doesn’t bring harm to that sweet baby of his. I know he was scared to tell me who actually gave birth to her, but unlike some narrow minded bigots still around, I understand that if the good Lord chose to give some men an extra gene to allow them to bring life into the world, there’s a reason.

“He’s not the first man I’ve met in my long life who’s been given that honor and I feel the same way about men having babies as I do women: Some are better at it than others. I knew from seeing that boy with his baby that he adored her.” She hid her smile as she watched Jared relax more. “You know about him?”

“He told me a few things but I think there’s more. I won’t push for more unless I think there’s a need.” Jared glanced at his watch, not wanting to lose track of time. “I know he’s an Ackles from the San Antonio oil Ackles…”

“Jared, he’s Barrett Ackles’ youngest son. According to things I heard in the business and society sectors, he was the quiet shy one who never wanted anything to do with the things his family was into, like parties or drinking or things that young folk do. He had just as many trust funds as you did but he was stripped of everything by his bigoted, small-minded family.” Evie might leave most of the business to her sons but she still kept a hand in, and she had heard all the vicious and hateful things that Marilyn Ackles said and let be said about her own son when it started being leaked that, not only was he gay but one of ‘those genetic freaks’ who could get pregnant.

She’d also heard more than her share of rumors regarding who had knocked up a shy young man who’d just wanted to go to college and get out from under his family’s thumb.

The Padalecki family were just as rich, if not more so than the Ackles but Evie knew that while a few of her children and some of theirs did have their noses in the air due to the money, she’d raised most of them to still care and be generous.

Jared had been one of the few of her grandchildren that had never asked for his trust fund early or begged for fancy cars or trips. He never wanted expensive clothes or a condo. Jared was content with living in a simple house, driving around a beat-up Jeep that he’d rebuilt with his father, and making do on his paycheck.

The older woman knew that if he began to finally dip into one of his bank accounts now, that it wouldn’t be for him but for a young struggling father and his bright-eyed daughter. “He’s a proud boy, Jared,” she warned quietly. She suspected that there was also a great deal of fear as well behind those green eyes that had welled with tears when she handed him the keys.

“Yep, and he’s also hiding a lotta hurt so if I can make things a little easier in whatever way I can, that’s what I want to do for them both.” Jared gave another glance at his watch before standing. “I gotta go but if you’ll do what you can, I’ll let you work me like a dog whenever I have the time. If you talk to Dad, tell him I might be coming by to raid the garage for something.” He kissed her cheek, seeing her worry. “I know what you’re worried about. I can’t promise not to fall for him since I’m almost halfway there already. I will promise not to jump into it headfirst. Now, I have to make a fast trip to the store before I go home.”

Evie raised her fine brows at this. Jared hardly ever cooked for himself so this was an off statement to hear come out of his mouth. “What do you need?” She pointed back to the house. “If it’s something I might have, just go take it.”

“Nope, I need some bananas and peaches and a couple dozen jars of what my neighbor says is baby food, in addition to actual real food since I plan to see if all those damn cooking lessons paid off,” Jared winked as he jogged out of the back yard with a wave. “Bye, Grams!”

“Oh, he is certainly more than halfway in love,” Evie smiled. She decided to leave the rest of her weeding for later and went to place some calls.

If it raised more than a few eyebrows at the local grocery chain when Jared walked in, he didn’t notice. It wasn’t as if he never shopped because he did. And if more than a few of the females who worked there or who were shopping that morning stared at how the dark denim-hugged long legs and the way his deep blue t-shirt clung to hard muscles on his chest and abs, again Jared didn’t notice them. His attention was focused on getting the fruit he thought a baby would like mashed and thinking back to what kinds of jars he had seen last night.

The store had an array of the stuff but, since Jared didn’t know what Piper would eat, and because a few of the little jars turned his stomach, he stuck with what he had seen. Jared eyed the various stuff in the baby aisle and tossed a few other things into his cart before trying to decide what to buy for dinner. He had no clue what Jensen actually ate.

After another moment of debate, he figured he’d be cooking a lot more and decided to buy a few more items. By the time he was bagged, paid for, and on his way home. Jared was suddenly well aware that he might’ve gone overboard but would cross the bridge when he came to it.

He hadn’t missed the curious looks old Mrs. Peters had given him when she’d checked him out. There was no doubt in his mind that nearly everyone in San Rio knew who his grandmother had rented the other side of his house to. It wasn’t that large a town. He also figured that, by the time she was off work, the old busybody would spread all over town that Detective Jared, as she liked to call him, was buying baby food and more groceries than he had in a year.

Pulling up into the driveway, Jared could see the rusted old Chevy was still where it had been parked. He made a note to try to get close enough to see if the thing was actually safe for the road but as he was stepping out of his jeep, his eyes instantly went to the porch after hearing a happy baby shriek.

“Hey there, Sweet Pea,” Jared smiled. He grabbed two bags in one hand and carried them to the porch. Piper was swinging happily in the worn-out looking swing. The swing might have once been made to swing automatically but now it needed someone to push it. That such person was her father, who was sitting in a ragged old porch chair with several papers spread out, one of which was a sheet of paper with things crossed out. A cordless phone that looked like the back was held on with duct tape sat next to the papers. “Since I was raised a proper Texas gentleman, I guess I should say ‘hey’ to you too,” he aimed a smile at Jensen. He noticed that while the other man didn’t look as tired, there was still too much worry in those green eyes for Jared’s liking.

“Hi.” Jensen had been telling himself to relax. Jensen had woken up that morning to his daughter giggling and trying to crawl over him. He noticed Jared’s Jeep was already gone. By the time he got back, Jensen had almost convinced himself that whatever he might’ve felt between them last night was the result of too much stress and not enough sleep. He had also convinced himself he hadn’t dragged Piper’s swing out onto to the front porch just to wait for the hot guy next door to get back. As it was, he was sitting there swinging Piper, and all the papers he’d been picking up all week were sprawled out in front of him; job ads and babysitting ads. “We’re swinging.” He blushed as deep hazel eyes looked over dark glasses. A dimple came out as Jared smiled again. “Well, she’s swinging. I’m just the motivator of motion.”

“And my sister, the so-called author, would love you just for knowing words with more than one syllable,” Jared chuckled. He put the bags down and went back for another load. In between trips, he played with Piper who squealed with more joy than Jensen had ever seen her do with anyone but him.

After getting the bags to the porch, Jared unlocked his door and carried some bags into his place. He put the cold stuff away but left anything else for later. When he got back to the porch, he sucked in a tight breath. He was almost immediately pinned by sharp green eyes as Jensen held out a set of chunky plastic baby keys.

“Okay, so this is the part where I remind you of what I said last night. Anything I do or buy for you and Piper is because I want to and I won’t accept anything in return.” Jared took the keys from Jensen and removed all the plastic. When he was done, he held them out to a babbling Piper. “It’s a toy, Jensen. Plus, I’m a sucker for babies and toys so, as I tell my sisters or cousins whenever one of them has another kid, I will only say that I’ll try not to spoil them too badly. I promise… No ponies, though.”

Jensen wanted to object, especially when he found his hands full of bags with baby food jars and fruit. He knew if it had been anything else but stuff for Piper, he would have but it warmed him to see someone else, someone who was as kind as Jared, doing stuff and caring about his daughter. He didn’t have the heart to refuse the man’s generosity.

“I will pay you back for this stuff,” he muttered as Jared was taking the bags back to carry them inside himself. Jensen was moving to lift his daughter out of the swing so they could go see exactly what was bought. He stilled at the feeling of gentle lips ghosting over his cheek.

“No, you won’t,” Jared corrected softly, and so his gesture wouldn’t be taken wrong, he made sure to do the same to the giggling baby. She seemed to like both the soft touch and the keys; he barely managed to avoid getting slapped in the face as Piper swung them. “Just like you won’t pay me back for making dinner tonight. I’m doing it because I want to.”

“Why?” Jensen didn’t mean to sound rude by asking but after so long, it was just hard to accept something so freely given. “I mean, you don’t know us… me, and I don’t want you to think by what you’ve seen that I can’t take care of my daughter because I can. I do take care of her and… Huh?”

It took a second to realize Jared had moved this whole conversation off the front porch, which was something Jensen should’ve thought to do. He hardly ever stuck his head outside, much less Piper. He was tired of acting like a recluse, though. He knew that if he wanted to build a life here in San Rio, he would eventually have to stop thinking that everyone assumed the worst, or that everyone wanted to take his child away from him.

“Buying some groceries and a few toys and wanting to fix you dinner does not mean I think you can’t take care of Piper, Jensen.” Jared was starting to get the hang of Jensen’s moods and also a few of his triggers. He’d made a mental note that the moment he had a name and a face to go with whoever had put such fear into this gentle man, he’d be hitting someone. “It means that I want to spend some time with you, to get to know you, to get to know this pretty little girl. It means I don’t cook if it’s just for me but I happen to like to do it when I’m not out arresting evil-doers so… Will you let me cook dinner for you?” he asked. He had to remind himself to ask and not take over. That’s probably all Jensen’s had in his life; people telling him and doing.

Standing in the middle of Jensen’s nearly empty living room with bags in his hands that he finally knew he had no hope in either refusing Jared or losing his heart. “Alright…but I’ll warn you now I don’t know if this stove works past the burners since…well…as you probably noticed last night I…I don’t have much that’s not for Piper but then I…I never was a big eater.”

The way Jensen said that and the way he nervously pushed his glasses up with his finger made Jared’s heart ache. Whatever his new friend had missed out on, or whatever it was, seemed to have taken the joy away from him.

“I might have to change that,” Jared winked. He moved into the kitchen and placed the bags on the table. “There were like two billion choices of baby food so, hopefully, I didn’t choose too many kinds that she won’t eat. Plus I brought bananas and some other fruit that Piper and I are going to blend in my food processor… or mash with our fingers.”

Jensen went to put Piper in her seat on the counter but since she was so animated and wiggly, he decided to put her in the bouncy seat on the table as he stared at what Jared was unpacking. “Umm, she’s not… too picky about food actually except for peas. She really doesn’t like those and I normally end up wearing them.”

“Good thing I don’t like peas and didn’t buy any of those then.” Jared laid several bunches of ripe bananas on the table and pulled one off, glancing at Jensen. “Can she eat tiny bites or does it need to be mashed?” He wasn’t sure since he’d seen his sister’s kids take whole pieces and cram them in their faces.

“Peel it and break it into pieces for her and she’ll show you how she eats bananas.” Jensen knew his daughter adored the fruit and he loved to see her feed herself.

Jared followed instructions by peeling the yellow fruit. He broke it into a few pieces, and held out a piece to Piper. He chuckled when tiny fingers took it from him and proceeded to mash it. She ate it off her fingers while making happy noises and bouncing in her seat.

“Yeah, if you like this then wait until we mash these peaches up,” Jared laughed when Piper held a hand up after taking another bite as if offering him some. “You offerin’ to share your ‘nana, Sweet Pea?” He took the small hand in two fingers while lifting his eyes up, asking the child’s father for permission.

“She likes to share,” Jensen remarked with obvious emotion in his eyes and his voice. It was true. Piper loved sharing and playing… but not with a lot of people. This was the first time he’d seen his daughter so happy and open with someone they’d just met. If he had any other doubts about Jared’s kindness or his intentions, Piper’s trust in him erased them. “She likes you.”

“She does, huh?” Jared kissed the little fingers, licking the mashed fruit off. After the process had happened a second time, he decided to take a chance. He lifted his eyes to lock onto the wet green ones that were watching them. “How does Piper’s Daddy feel about me?”

Jensen swallowed thickly; he was glad he was standing by the table. He felt his knees actually shaking at the intense look shared between them, and he supported himself on the table to keep from falling. Never in his life, not even with Tom, had anyone looked at him like Jared was right then.

After he had realized just what Tom wanted with him, after having Piper, after the brutal fight when Jensen refused to give her up or abort her, Jensen had sworn to never let himself fall in love or trust another man. He’d been so busy trying to survive after being disowned. so distracted with being pregnant, and then becoming responsible for such a tiny life. Jensen honestly never thought he would ever meet a man who might even be interested in him for more than just sex… until last night. Now, as he racked his brain trying to come up with an answer, he heard himself answering before he could even talk himself out of how he felt.

“Her Daddy likes you too,” he murmured. He prayed he wasn’t making a mistake that would end up breaking three hearts. “But…”

Jared was quick to move, placing a finger over nervous lips. He suddenly wanted to taste then but held back. “No… No buts,” he interrupted smoothly. “I know this might be too much, too fast, and I swear I’m going to try my best not to push. We’ll take it slow, get used to one another. If I ever get too pushy or bossy then tell me to take my uppity butt outta your place… Or call Grams but if you give me a chance, I will show you that I’m not like the assholes that have hurt you, Jen.”

“You’ve proved that just by doing what you’ve done already,” Jensen replied. “There are things you should probably know but I… I don’t know where to start.”

“You’ll start when you feel it’s time. Right now I know all I need to know, and that is that you’re willing to give me a chance,” Jared brushed his fingers along Jensen’s cheek before smoothing through short dark blond hair. “You’ll tell me what you want me to know and I’ll probably end up sharing way too many details about my life and the never ending surprise that is my job as a cop in this town.”

Nodding, Jensen moved his hand up to cover the one on his cheek. He heard Piper making happy chatter; she was more interested in smashing banana in her face than what they were doing. “Slow?”

“As slow as you need,” Jared promised, determined to keep that promise even if it killed him.

**TBC**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise longer chapters are coming.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a week since an update. Sorry about that. My beta got busy.

**Baby Steps**

**Chapter Four**

Over the first weekend, Jared took his time and let Jensen, as well as Piper, start to get used to having someone around them more. He kept his promise to mash peaches in the food processor he brought over from his place. At first, the noise of the machine scared the baby but Jensen was quick to reassure Jared that she’d be fine once she saw that it wouldn’t hurt her.

Jensen bounced her in his arms while moving closer to where the noise was coming from. It took several minutes and a few peaches before the baby’s cries lessened to little hiccups. By the time Jared got them to the consistency he was looking for, he felt fingers in his hair; Piper was beginning to get more curious and was trying to peer over his shoulder with big green eyes.

“Wanna taste, Sweet Pea?” Jared put some of the mashed peaches on a spoon and held it up to see if Piper was curious enough to taste on her own. He’d already tasted it so he knew it was naturally sweet enough. His lips curved as he watched her small face offer him a look like her father had been all afternoon whenever Jared said or did something that surprised the younger man.

Jensen opened his mouth to say something coaxing when he saw little pink lips open for the tip of the spoon. He’d already had a spoonful after Jared had dared him to actually try it before casting doubt on his idea and had to admit the stuff did taste good… Better than the jar of mashed peaches. A bright smile and happy giggle told him Piper agreed.

After the peaches were a success and Piper stopped crying at the noise, Jensen placed her in her seat on the counter near Jared while he retrieved the newspaper to switch between watching them and hunting a job. He’d deal with a babysitter after he had a job.

After she’d gotten her belly full of fresh mashed peaches and the concoction of mashed bananas and strawberries Jared had decided to try, it quickly became plain that his colicky, upset daughter who’d barely wanted to sleep since moving in was suddenly more agreeable about taking naps in the daytime when Jensen went to put her in the play yard in the living room.

Jared had vanished to his house for a few minutes but soon returned with the things he needed to prepare dinner. Jensen got nervous and a little embarrassed when he had to admit his supply of pots and pans were few and far between. That hadn’t bothered the other man. He merely went back over to get what he needed.

While he prepped, they made easy, casual conversation and if Jared noticed that it was mainly him talking sometimes, he didn’t let on. He merely told Jensen about his family and hid his smirk when green eyes went wide at the mention of Jared being the youngest and only boy out of seven kids.

Even though Jared didn’t plan on putting Jensen and Piper through the often too loud and too excitable event of meeting his full family, he did want him to know about them, especially one or two cousins that Evie usually hired to do house repairs. For that reason as well, he told him about a few of his close friends because as Jared knew well, anyone who might meet his oldest friend needed advance warning to explain Chad.

Jensen had never been good with conversation. He was naturally shy and reserved, something his family had never accepted or approved of. He stood beside Jared to help prep vegetables for the salad to go with the steaks he planned to cook, and he found it relaxing to have someone to talk to or listen to.

The steaks were huge and perfectly cooked and as he ate his, in between feeding a newly woken and still happy Piper some of her fresh peaches, he realized how long it had been that he’d actually ate a home-cooked meal, much less one that tasted as good as what Jared had made.

Jared refused to let him clean up. He gave the reason that he’d made the mess so he’d clean it up but compromised and let Jensen put the stuff away. He shrugged when Jensen pointed out that, except for the mismatched dinnerware, everything else was Jared’s.

“I’ll probably be cooking over here, so the stuff might as well stay here.” The cop had expected a tense moment at that but Jensen had merely considered it and nodded.

It was well after Piper was down for the night and Jensen’s own eyes were heavy from a day that, miraculously, didn’t include worrying over every little thing he did or what would come the next day. If he noticed Jared didn’t leave until he began to get tired, he decided to let it go and enjoy this for however long it lasted.

The following days were mostly the same. Jensen, however, slowly began to notice the little things he hadn’t before. A coffee maker was on his counter and there was more food in the refrigerator more suited to his taste than Jared’s. He realized that the other day, when Jared had talked him into bringing Piper along for a trip to the store to get more fruit, they’d also come home with bags of other stuff as well… And all that stuff ended up at Jensen’s place.

“Did you just stock my kitchen?” He’d asked when it clicked. He knew he should be stopping the man’s generosity but it was hard when Jared had merely shifted Piper to his hip as he stepped closer to, once again, give one of those light touches to Jensen’s face while pushing his glasses back up.

“I like to see you eat and I like to know there’s stuff here for you guys to eat when I go back to work and won’t be here quite as much,” Jared told him. He accepted that Jensen’s pride was huge and tried not to overstep. It was so damn hard, though, when there was so much he wanted to do but Jared kept reminding himself that he promised to go slow. “My family says I’m softhearted and maybe that’s true but I say that I want to take care of those I care for, Jensen. I care about you and Piper, so that means it’s natural instinct for me to want to take care of you. That’s got nothin’ to do with me thinking that you can’t provide for her or yourself because I know you can. I just want to help lighten the load a little. If I’m overstepping, I’ll apologize and try to stop.”

Jensen knew he was sensitive and probably sounded rude, so he took a slow breath. “When I was carrying her, I was told so many times that I’d never be able to take care of her or myself because I… Because my folks made it plain that, if I refused to give in to their demands, I’d be given a small amount but that I’d never see another dime of what was rightfully mine,” he began slowly. He absently put the groceries away while noticing that Jared had laid Piper in the new bouncy seat that had appeared along with a new swing that actually rocked itself.

“You know who my family is, right?” He suspected that everyone this side of the Rio Grande knew who Barrett Ackles was and saw the nod of confirmation from Jared. “I was the youngest of four children but, as I was also told growing up, I was a miserable disappointment from the start. I was mostly sick as a child, so I was handed off to nannies or other people to care for so that nothing would get in the way of my parents from going to their important social functions.

“I was shy, reserved, and I hated those stupid social things my mother was always throwing or hosting. I just wanted to be left alone to read or draw but that was a horrible thing for any Ackles to want, so I was made to go or be punished in some way.” Jensen moved away from where he precious little girl was bouncing and playing with the toys that were attached to the seat.

“My father’s punishments for disappointing or shaming the family or the name were more physical but my mother’s were cruel,” he paused. He held a can of soup in his hand and felt the warmth of Jared’s body stepping behind him. “I grew used to the feeling of his belt or hand. It was harder to adjust when I never knew if she’d just tell the cook not to set me a place at the table for a few days. Or, if I found my room locked, I slept out in the loft in the barn since the guest house was just for guests and not for her disappointing son. She was also fond of hiding my glasses as punishment for refusing to wear contacts but those hurt and…”

“Jen…” Jared’s voice was low. He was stunned and also furious at his friend’s parents for treating him in such a way.

Jared’s folks were strict and he’d had his butt warmed more than once growing up if he seriously deserved it but never had he or his sisters ever been punished in such a way. It hurt him to see Jensen, as a child, growing up and knowing he was thought of as a disappointment.

“My brother and sisters had the best of everything. They had it all and wanted more. I was happy with my books, a laptop that I bought myself, and some art supplies but that made my parents even madder. They said I was hoarding the money away when I only had access to one account. The accountants working for my father had control of the others.” Jensen didn’t hear the way his soft drawl turned shaky, nor did he feel the hands that moved to his arms as if to give him some support. All he heard and saw was his past; a past before a nightmare brought him light and a life.

“When I graduated high school, I already knew I was gay. Very few others did; a few close friends but I kept it from my parents because my father’s stance on homosexuality was well-known. Also because I didn’t particularly relish the thought of him doing what he promised his pals one night he would do if he ever found out any of his kids decided they were one of ‘those’ people.” He looked down when those strong hands took his and held them as they began to shake. “My older brother got to go to some fancy college back east but I was told I was lucky to be smart enough to get into a local college. I believed them, so… I went to a college in San Antonio and that’s where I met…Tom.”

Jared was hoping he would never have to meet Jensen’s family because he had more than a few choice words for them. He heard the shake in Jensen’s voice get worse as he went on. “Jen… Sugar, you don’t have to tell me anything that you’re not ready to.” He didn’t want to bring back bad memories or more problems to his friend than this might already. “We have plenty of time to learn about each other.”

“I need you to understand why it might be hard for me to always let you do things that come naturally to you. Why I have such a hard time accepting help or why I might not sound as grateful to you as I really am.” Jensen glanced over to see that Piper had fallen asleep in her seat with the new stuffed bunny clutched in one tiny hand. Her other hand was in her mouth and he smiled with a love that he knew he’d never feel again. “She… She doesn’t look like him,” he murmured, glancing back at Jared. “I worried about that for a while but then after the first sonogram, I knew it wouldn’t matter. I knew that I’d love her no matter what. I’d love her even if no one else ever would.”

Seeing that this was going to get worse before it got better, Jared took a careful step closer. He very slowly, very gently pressed his lips to Jensen’s temple. “Let me finish putting this stuff away. You go put her down for a nap upstairs and then, if you want to tell me, we can sit in the living room,” he urged quietly, seeing Jensen nod gratefully.

Jared waited until Jensen had gently gathered the sleeping baby into his arms to decide to mention something. “Oh, and just so you can get used to the idea… I am bringing her an actual crib to sleep in.” He hid his grin when Jensen stopped mid-step to stare at him. “She’s going to fall through that bassinet up there, Jen. I know you don’t trust it or else you’d put her in it more, instead of your bed. This is just a heads-up for when I show up one day. And, so you know, it’s because I’m just as worried about her falling through that thing or that thing falling apart that I’m doing it. And because it’s been in my folks’ garage. It ain’t new, so you can’t object over me buying it.”

“Why’re you so nice to us?” Jensen could feel his eyes start to burn. He didn’t understand this man in front of him. He hoped, once he was done, Jared still felt this way.

“Because I care,” Jared replied easily. He could see the worry shining back at him, so he smiled. “And, no matter what you might tell me, that isn’t gonna change.”

Jared was unlike anyone Jensen had ever known. Oh, he had a friend or two in school that had liked him, who’d tried to stand by him. In the end, his family’s influence had caused even them to pull back.

Jensen knew or hoped he was finally outside and away from that influence. His parents had made their opinion widely known that, the moment he tore those papers up that would’ve signed his baby away and tossed the pieces in their faces, he was dead to them. He still had worries about Tom because, even though the man had wanted nothing to do with the child he had a part in making, he’d still been unusually determined to make Jensen aware that he’d never be anything without him.

Learning to make his own way with nothing to his name had been a hard lesson. Jensen had known that, when the lease to his apartment had been pulled with still eight months to go, it was his father’s way of telling him that they’d meant their threats. So, instead of begging like he was expected to, he’d packed his daughter up, packed what little was his, and moved as far away as he could get.

In two months, it hadn’t gotten any easier but in some ways, despite all the stress and fear of losing the roof over their heads, Jensen was happier than he’d ever been. He knew a huge part of that was due to the soft, warm, little body that he placed gently on his bed to surround with pillows.

“I love you, baby girl,” he whispered. He kissed the top of her head softly. “No matter what happens, I swear you will never have the life I did. I will always show you love.”

Jensen took his time making sure she wouldn’t roll off the bed and calming down. He knew what he needed to explain to Jared. He just hoped he could do it without losing this fragile new friendship.

By the time he got back downstairs, Jared had put everything away and was restlessly pacing the living room. He turned when he heard Jensen enter. “Jen, I mean it when I say you don’t have to tell me this if it’s going to upset you-” He blinked in surprise when, suddenly, Jensen crossed the space between them to wrap his arms around Jared’s waist quickly, hesitantly, as if fearing the touch wouldn’t be welcome but Jared’s arms folded to hold him.

Jensen hardly ever initiated any kind of physical contact, even before his break-up. Being shy and gay hadn’t given him a lot of confidence. He did this time because he felt safe with Jared and also because his emotions were already raw and he just wanted to feel the strength in those arms one time. He also wanted to show Jared how grateful he was for him still being there.

“I know I don’t… But if I’m going to try to start teaching myself that not everyone I meet will look at me or Piper like freaks, if I’m going to try to do what I want to so badly, you should know. Then you can decide if we’re still worth it.” Jensen didn’t realize how tense he was holding himself until he actually began to feel himself gradually relaxing with the comforting hand on his back. “Can we sit?”

Jared nodded, letting Jensen lead him to the overstuffed blue chair, rather than the sofa. He started to sit on the arm, giving Jensen space in the chair. He felt a hand on his wrist and an unspoken plea in soft green eyes, so with a firm inner reminder to keep his body’s responses under control, he sat in the chair and allowed Jensen to slowly shift until he was leaning against his shoulder.

Jensen took a shaky breath as he explained about his time in college. He told Jared how his shyness and need to just keep to himself had only gotten worse. He was still expected to follow the family rules, despite just wanting to study what he wanted.

Jensen, as Jared was learning, longed to draw and was a talented artist. He was also good with cameras but had been made to take business courses that he hated. “I was a year away from graduating when I met Tom. It just seemed like everything changed after that,” he murmured. “You’ve probably heard of his family, too. His grandfather started Welling Industries and… Was that a growl?” He looked at Jared and saw an odd twitch in his jaw. Jensen guessed he could share that feeling now.

Oh, Jared had heard of Welling Industries and he’d heard of the prodigal son, as it were. He’d also seen Tom Welling at more than a few functions. He’d seen and despised the asshole for his attitude and how he’d treated both staff and a few guests. It turned his stomach and also made the cop in him uneasy to think that that was who’d fathered Piper. He had also heard more than a few rumors of how possessive the guy could be if he didn’t get his way.

“Tom Welling is who…” He paused to consider the right phrase to use. He was still giving Jensen time to explain what he would.

“Knocked me up?” His voice was dry but the bitterness was also heard. Jensen nodded, fingers nervously picking at a hole in his worn jeans. “Yeah… But…” He chewed his lip until a warm hard cupped his jaw and lifted his eyes up. “Tom was a football player. I’d seen him in high school and his attitude rubbed me the wrong way, so, like with most of the others, I steered clear. The summer before what would’ve been my last year of college, I saw him at some party my mom had and he came onto me… hard.

“I was still keeping my homosexuality a secret and I thought he was too. I knew from others that he was mostly bisexual. With Tom, he didn’t care if it was a male or female; when he wanted sex, he wanted it. He also didn’t take “no” well because when I refused him, he began to harass me and follow me. He called and texted constantly, saying that I’d never find someone better than him for my first time. When that didn’t work, he began to play on my weaknesses.” Jensen felt strong fingers slip over his and returned the grip gratefully.

Jared feared he knew what Welling had probably done. He’d heard about him and those in his clique doing it to several young women. “He told you he loved you and that if you came out to your folks, he’d take care of you.” He wanted to make someone bleed at his jerky little nod and when he started to shake. “Jen? Before the night you got pregnant… Had you ever had sex before?” He asked this quietly. When Jensen shook his head, Jared vowed he would bloody Tom Welling’s face if he ever got the chance. He worked to keep his voice steady and finally made himself ask the one question he suspected he knew the answer to but needed to be certain. “Did… Did you want to or did he force you?”

“I’d… I’d finally given in a few months before. I let him take me out to dinner a few times but mostly, he came to my apartment. It never occurred to me that, in nearly three months, he never took me to his place or introduced me to his friends. If we went to a party, he stayed with his friends or flirted with girls. It wasn’t until it was too late that I realized why and that it had all been a game.” Jensen still hated himself for falling for the lies and for believing everything Tom had told him about not being worthy of anyone else’s time or attention.

“The one friend I still had from high school finally told me that Tom had made a bet with my brother that he could get me to fall in love with him, to give it all up for him, and to have sex with him. I guess my brother suspected that I was gay and was just looking for something to use against me or to hurt me. While being gay was a sin in the society my family ran, it was fine to be bisexual and cruel. I dumped him and thought that was it… But it wasn’t.” He shook slightly until he felt himself shifted. He ended up resting his head on Jared’s chest, and could hear the beat of his heart and took strength from that.

“I was commanded to attend a fancy party one summer night. I didn’t want to because I’d been told by my mother that the Wellings were also going to be there. I didn’t want to risk seeing Tom because he’d really been hassling me since I told him where to go… but I went." Jensen accepted that it had been his fault. He’d faced that his own stupidity and naivety had resulted in what happened that night. It was just hard to allow Jared to know how stupid he’d been.

Jared sat still and listened to Jensen explain about the fancy party… A party that he thought his own parents might also have attended. It was one of those society things where people of a certain class were expected to attend.

Jensen talked about how, normally, he didn’t drink alcohol because he didn’t like it. The staff, however, had been ordered to serve nothing non-alcoholic. His single glass of white wine had somehow disappeared to be replaced by a glass of red wine that his brother gave him. Even before the shaking young man got dizzy and confused, Jared already knew what had happened. He was beyond pissed off at the whole damn bunch of assholes who’d drugged a shy, naïve young man and then left him alone with a predator.

“I… I… don't remember going upstairs. I don't remember passing out or Tom being anywhere around but… When the fog started to clear, all I felt was pain and… his hands on me. When I started to fight back and tried to get him off me, he hit me. He told me he hadn’t just spent so many months with me to not get anything out of it, so I owed him. When I tried to shout, he covered my mouth and just went on… with it.” Jensen’s voice went soft, a tear sliding fear as the remembered the pain and shame the next day.

“I covered it but I know that my brother knew what Tom had done. He knew that he’d…” He still had a hard time saying the word because in, so many ways, he believed what Tom had told him later that week. “He brought me some flowers later that week, to say how sorry he was that I’d brought the pain on myself and that maybe next time I’d be more reasonable. He told me I was too plain, too shy, too stupid to be wanted by anyone besides him. I… I believed him cause he was… But I was scared cause it hurt. Then he got scarier. It was like he assumed he owned me or something.”

Jensen took a few shaky breaths to calm back down. He’d felt Jared tense, so he’d tensed, expecting to be mocked or shamed or worse. But the hand that still covered his didn’t tighten painfully. It merely offered a comforting squeeze to reassure the young father that he was with him.

“A few weeks after, he punched me. He would’ve done more if my friend Chris hadn’t stopped by to see why I hadn’t come to see his band play. He saw what happened and pulled Tom off of me. Chris had hated Tom since school and Tom hated Chris because his family wasn’t as well off as his or even mine and because Chris punched him before.” He started to reach up to touch his face, still feeling the bruises and fracture to his cheek. Halfway in midair, the hand was caught and held lightly to Jared’s chest. “A… month later…When I realized the summer cold I thought I had was just getting worse, I went to the doctor and… and that’s when my family found out.”

Jared closed his eyes to bring his emotions under control. He was seething; not only at the things he’d just heard but the thought that Jensen might still believe the lies and excuses for Welling’s heinous acts against a shy, innocent young man who hadn’t understood or wanted the act. Then he blinked.

“Wait… How did your family find out?” he asked. He needed to realign his thoughts off of how much he seriously wanted Tom Welling to meet a horrible end… or how much he wanted his fist to meet his face to focus on this. “The Privacy Act should’ve prevented your doctor from… That bastard called them?!” Oh, Jared was so making a list of people to deal with. Even if it meant owing his sister, the lawyer, more than a few favors.

“He called them before he even told me.” Jensen knew the laws that were violated but his father owned too many people. If he didn’t own them, they were afraid of him. So, while he’d despised the doctor for the breach of ethics, he understood the fear of his father even more. “I was still reeling from learning I was pregnant; that I’d been born with the gene that allowed men to conceive. On top of that, I had my parents screaming in my face for being an immoral freak; about how I would abort that abomination right that second and a bunch of other crap. I stopped hearing them because I was glued to the fact that I’d just heard my baby’s heartbeat and these people, my parents, were calling her these awful names.

“My father was ordering the doctor to make the arrangements while still telling me I was a freak, a faggot, and that he'd kill me if he could. The doctor’s wife, his partner in their practice and the head of a hospital, came in." Jensen could still hear the hate spewing at him. He could still see the rage and shame aimed at him. All he’d been able to do was curl in on himself while trying to say that he would not let them kill his baby and that had been what the woman had moved on.

“She asked my age and then told my father that he had no control over me, my body, or my baby and that if he touched me, she’d see his ass hauled out of her building in chains. She called her husband a spineless worm for breaking the ethics rule and said she was taking over my care as both my primary care doctor and the pregnancy, since I was still numb and scared.” He smiled a little as he recalled the shock on his father’s face at being talked to like that. “Dr. Milly was barely 5’ but she stood up to my family. She ignored my father’s threats to have her license pulled and merely reminded him that threatening a gay person was considered a hate crime and threatening one who also happened to be pregnant would be so much worse. My folks left but it wasn’t long before I realized just how far they’d go to get their way.”

Jared murmured soft words of comfort against soft, dark blond hair. He could feel Jensen trembling but knew all he could do was sit and listen. He realized this was probably the first time his friend had felt safe enough to share these details. “Did they hurt you, Jen?” he asked quietly. “I mean, aside from the obvious threats or emotionally, did he ever touch you or the baby?”

“My father didn’t. He knew he didn’t have to because he could hurt me in other ways, like having the tuition money pulled, so even if I’d been trying to finish out my last year, I couldn’t. Once it started circulating that not only was I gay but a freak, whatever friends I had pulled away, except for Chris. My dad froze all but one account and threatened that if I didn’t abort her or give her up that they’d disown me." Jensen slid his hand down to his once again flat and toned stomach. He recalled how odd it had felt when it had started to show evidence of his pregnancy. He remembered how it had felt the first time he’d felt that little life inside him kick or move.

“I was scared. I’d never really been on my own and I knew I’d never make it in San Antonio because of both my family and Tom’s. I also knew I could never lose that baby, so I chose to save my child and try to make it on my own." Jensen felt his breathing slow as Jared’s hand laid over his again. He swallowed at the way his heart jumped but also the way his body reacted to what was so simple a gesture. “I told my parents if they wanted to blame anyone then blame the asshole who raped me…” He paused and considered his choice of words. Finally, Jared spoke up.

“Don’t change it. No matter what Welling might have said after or what your asshole parents probably said in response, that is what he did to you, Jen." He kept his voice low, despite the anger he felt for what had happened to Jensen. “It doesn’t matter how long he weaseled his way into your life. If you'd already told him no before and he worked with someone to drug you so he could do it, it’s still rape. It’s still rape because you said no when you woke up and he hit you, so no matter what others might have told you, I think in your heart, in your head you know that Welling was the one at fault, not you and not Piper. Do I have to ask what they or he said or should I just guess?”

Jensen had to shake himself out of his shocked stupor. Only Dr. Milly and Chris had ever said that to him. He’d honestly never expected to hear it from Jared or at least not in those words. He’d really been expecting the man to have already made some excuse and left but Jared hadn’t budged and had only adjusted his arms to bring him closer against his chest. He was so surprised that he wasn’t even aware of when his arms had slid around Jared and held on tightly.

“My parents, of course, said it was my fault. My brother chimed in helpfully to say how I’d been shamelessly flirting and stalking Tom for months instead of the other way around, so if I led him on or tricked him, it was my fault.” Jensen was curious to the way Jared’s fingers would tense then relax. “That night, the second to last time I saw my family, Tom showed up at my place. My mother had called to tell him the crazy lies of rape I was trying to spread over his good name. He was pissed and said if he’d have known what kind of genetic bastard I was, he never would’ve taken the bet. Then he laughed and had the guts to say if I got rid of the baby that he’d still fuck me.

“I told him the same thing I told my parents; to go to hell and stay the hell away from me and my baby,” Jensen still stressed the word ‘my’ because that’s what he saw Piper as. “I refused to name the father. I didn’t put him on her birth certificate. When I was about seven months along, he came around to threaten me. I told him not to worry; that as soon as she was born, we were leaving San Antonio and I wanted nothing to do with him, his family, or my own." He frowned a little then. “That made him more mad. Before he stormed out, he said that no matter what I thought, no one else would want me or have me.

“The day after I brought Piper home, the manager of my building came to tell me that my lease, which still had a few months left, had been closed and I had thirty days to move. I knew my father or one of the family members did that but I’d already decided I was leaving because I couldn’t get a job. All I was getting was rude and threatening messages and my mother’s influence kept CPS on my door with threats that I was unfit mentally and physically to care for a child and that they’d take her. Chris’s aunt was a lawyer in Dallas and finally came down and threatened to sue the agency for harassment since I wasn’t doing anything wrong and the baby was in perfect health." He let out a deep breath as he got close to the end of his tale.

“The last time I saw my parents was the day I left San Antonio. They took my car and gave it to my sister, who was now the youngest child; I’d been officially disowned and disgraced in their eyes. So, I sold my high school ring and a watch I was given and I bought that interesting looking thing in the driveway. They came again to bluster and yell. Not once did either of them look at their granddaughter. As my mother said that day, she doesn’t consider that ‘thing’ as anything other than a mistake of nature and wished it had died." Jensen could still feel the hurt. He heard the definite sound of teeth gritting. He slowly eased away enough to look at Jared's face. He saw carefully concealed anger on Jared’s handsome face.

“That’s why I say that not everyone saw things or us as simply as you do, Jared. That’s also why I told you more than you probably wanted to know. I needed to be honest with you so you’d know where I came from, what I am, and that while I’ve let myself get too close to you already, I really will understand if you walk out and don’t come back." Jensen lowered his lashes to hide the building fear in his eyes. “I will get a job. I will be able to care for my daughter and pay you back for all the stuff you’ve bought for us. I won’t let anyone take Piper away from me. She’s… She’s all I have now and no matter how much I might hate Tom, hate the act itself, I love her… I better go check on her." He knew it would be easier for both of them if he gave Jared space to slip out without having to make excuses.

Quickly pushing to his feet, Jensen made himself not look directly at Jared. He was swearing at his own stupidity for letting the man become so close to them so fast. Suspecting was one thing but now that Jared knew the biggest part of his sins and mistakes, it was only right to expect him to cut ties. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all that the first night before you wasted all your time off with us. I know you probably had other stuff you’d rather be doing. It might take Piper some time to understand why you’re not here, or…”He felt his eyes start to burn and he knew he was babbling. He heard Jared come to his feet and Jensen moved to the steps. “Thank you for listening, Jared. Thank you for not yelling and waking her up. In her short six months of life, Piper’s already heard too much yelling. I’ll… see you around… Unless you don’t want to even do that and…”

He knew he was losing the battle with his emotions. The first baby cry came over the baby monitor and Jensen was hurrying up the steps while trying not to listen for the sound of his door.

Piper was just starting to learn to push herself and sit up. When Jensen got to the bedroom, he quickly wiped the tears off his face. He hated that he’d cried. He smiled at her waving arms and bright smile as she spotted him.

“Did you have a nice nap, baby girl?” Jensen sat down on the bed. He picked her up and blew kisses on her belly just to hear her laugh. He took his time with her, just holding her like he had so often when it all nearly became too much and she was still his saving grace. “Let’s get you changed and maybe work on your crawling.”

Piper’s green eyes were wide and bright as she swung her stuffed bunny. She started looking around the room and Jensen refused to let himself believe that she’d gotten used to Jared’s larger than life presence so quickly too. His daughter was so much like him.

“We’re gonna make it, Piper. You and Daddy will show everyone who said we couldn’t just how fine we did all by ourselves." He laid her on the changing table. As he changed her diaper, he could still feel the damn tears falling as he worked to keep his agile child from rolling off the table. He opened the bottle of baby powder when, all of a sudden, it let out a puff that had him, the baby, and the table covered in white.

“I told you that bottle of stuff was possessed, Jen.”

Jared’s unexpected soft drawl took Jensen by surprise. He turned to see the man leaning in the bedroom door... like he belonged there. Piper’s excited squeal certainly made it seem like he did. Jensen held his breath as he watched him straighten up and walked closer.

“Ummm..." Jensen wasn’t sure what this meant. He’d expected Jared to be gone. He'd expected him to know it wasn’t worth the hassle since, even if he had made a clean break, which he doubted he would, he still came with a lot of messy baggage. “I… You… Uhh-"

“You thought I’d take off after that look into your life, didn’t you, sugar?” Jared had known that just by the way Jensen had fled. He’d read the fear, the shame that was still there, and also the hurt. More than that, though, he’d seen the acceptance of being alone and of being looked at wrong. “You expected me to hear all of that, all the bad stuff, maybe even agree with all those-” He was quick to remember the baby in the room so he adjusted his words since his great-granny always said little ears had long memories. “…people who blamed you, who made you feel bad about yourself or that any of this was your fault. You expected me to cut my losses even though I’ve already said I ain’t like those people.”

“It was my-” Jensen began. He went completely still as a finger touched his lips. Jared gently dusted the powder off his face before cleaning it off a squirming Piper whose little hands were reaching for Jared.

“Nothing was your fault, Jensen." Jared told him firmly. He kept his tone low so it didn’t scare either Jensen or Piper while he had a battle with the diaper. “You were put down and made to feel wrong since you were a boy and that wasn’t right. I could give you the full opinion of what I think of your family but I won’t…. Yet. But as for the other..." He paused. Once he made sure the diaper would stay on, he looked directly at Jensen. “What he did was wrong. There ain’t ever an excuse for it but you didn’t let that beat you like so many others might have. You also didn’t let that a--fool change who you are or force you into giving up the one good thing that might’ve come out of it. Do you regret her, Jen?”

“No!” Jensen’s eyes flashed but Jared knew the anger he saw wasn’t directed at him. It was directed at everyone else who’d made it seem like he should’ve regretted his daughter. “I was so close to giving in and trying to be the son my family wanted, Jared. Learning I was pregnant and hearing her heartbeat the first time made me happy. It was almost as if I knew who I was from that moment. I will never regret her or be ashamed that I had her." He picked up his cooing baby and cuddled her tightly. “I love her more than anything I will ever have but… I just don’t want you to ever regret us. I don’t want to make it hard on you. I don't want to make it hard for you if people in town, your family, might not approve of me because of what I am.”

Jared suspected there might be a few people in San Rio who would object but then he’d been dealing with bigots ever since he came out as gay. He dealt with it and he’d deal with it again. He would not allow anyone to hurt these two.

“What you are?” He hated the self-loathing that Jensen had been made to feel all his life, carrying over to the present. He despised it with a burning passion. “What you are is a kind, handsome, gentle, wonderful man,” Jared took a half step closer and let his hand rest on Jensen’s cheek. He saw the change in his eyes. “You are a terrific father to a beautiful little girl. No one in this town will ever say that you’re not providing for her or caring for her but the one thing I will tell you now is that you’ll also not be alone.”

Jared knew and now understood why Jensen was so determined to make it on his own. He understood and was so proud of his determination. “I don’t care who you were or where you came from or what your past looks like, Jen. I care about you and Piper now. I care and I will help you. I will stand by you... If you’ll trust me enough to let me in.” He brushed his thumb down over Jensen’s jaw and wondered which of them shook more.

“I said I cared about you and Piper, Jen. I know it’s too soon to say the other words because I can see now that you’ve never really been shown what love is by someone other than this sweet little pea. That’s where I’m going with this, just so you know. And..." He took one more step and felt something uncoil when Jensen didn’t step back or look alarmed by that admission. “…one other thing you should know? I really do want to kiss you sometime.”

Jensen did blink at that. His eyes moved to Jared’s lips and he swore his spit dried up. He'd been dreaming what it might be like to kiss his neighbor ever since he met him. Of course, he didn’t have high expectations. Jensen knew he was bad at the whole kissing thing but he was willing to try it at least once. “You… You can." He couldn’t believe he was standing in what was basically his room with his baby in his arms, telling a man he’d only known a few weeks that he could kiss him. “I… I mean whenever you want to. I’m not good at it, so…”

“Jen?” Jared thought his head would explode right then. He wasn’t sure if it was from frustration that Jensen had even been led to believe he didn’t kiss right, or from the permission to actually do it. “Can I make a suggestion?” he asked softly. He eased one arm around Jensen’s narrow waist to bring him and the babbling little girl closer in his arms.

“Probably.” Jensen suddenly felt as young and unsure as he did when he was first discovering that he was gay and had no clue what he was doing. “What?”

“Let me be the judge.” Jared slipped his fingers down and curved them around the back of Jensen’s neck but didn’t tighten them. Instead, he leaned a little closer and offered a soft, tender kiss over plush lips that barely moved. “No good?” Jared asked with some building worry.

Jensen frowned, shifting Piper up more while watching Jared. “What wasn’t? I thought you were going to… I mean… God, this is more embarrassing than when I was 16.”

Jared stared at the man before realizing he was serious. Then, he longed to give up all those moments that Jensen had missed. “Sugar, I did kiss you,” he told him softly. He adjusted his arm just enough so that he could make sure Piper was supported enough and then leaned closer to repeat the touch. “I am kissing you.”

This time Jared kept the kiss slow, gentle but he increased the pressure just a bit more. After a second, he heard a soft gasp and knew Jensen must have caught up with him and understood what they were doing. He felt the tender kiss returned shyly and Jared could feel how tense Jensen was in his arms. Jared had no idea where the hell Jensen got the impression that he couldn't kiss because even this kiss, the feel of soft, plush lips warm and sweet, was one of the better ones Jared had in his life.

Knowing how uneasy Jensen was and that he wanted to go slow, Jared pulled back, breaking the kiss with a murmur. He smiled gently at the stunned look he saw. “Better?” he asked. He bent to nuzzle Piper’s cheek so she wouldn’t feel left out. “Jen?”

“I… That… I think I could learn to like your kisses.” He knew he was probably blushing but even without heat, Jensen swore he could still feel Jared’s lips. He debated on asking but decided he wasn’t ready to know how bad he had been.

“That’s good to know." Jared brushed a sweet kiss over Jensen’s cheek before taking a step back to give the man room. He couldn’t go too far, though, since Piper’s fingers were in his collar. “Oh, and just so you don’t chew that bottom lip off... Whoever told you that your kisses were bad or that you weren’t any good at it? He didn’t know what he was talking about cause you kiss just fine, sugar. Now… Are we good or do you really want me to go?”

“No!” Jensen hadn’t wanted Jared to go in the first place, and he still didn't. Jared smiled when Jensen grabbed at his arm. “I… I just thought…”

Jared nodded in understanding. “I know and I know how hard it must be to trust anyone but I promise… I won’t hurt you and we’re going to go slow like I said.” He held unsure green eyes for another moment before seeing Jensen nod and accept the hand he offered as Piper chattered to her bunny.

“I’m glad you stayed, Jared,” Jensen murmured. He found that he meant it. He gasped when his hand was brought up Jared's lips and he pressed his lips to it. “I… I… care for you too.”

Hazel eyes darkened but Jared was quick to remind himself of the need to go slow and not push, especially on this. Learning about Jensen’s life before moving to San Rio allowed him to know how very little experience his friend had, so he would give them a chance to get to know one another and grow together slowly. He’d worry about the possible downsides that came later.

**TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note, the timeline on this chapter might be a little tricky. I tried to keep it simple as it starts in the present but does a little backstory before catching back up. So just a heads up. Enjoy!

**Baby Steps**

**Chapter Five**

“So, can you possibly explain to me how in the hell you managed to punch your temporary partner, get your ass suspended for a week, get a boyfriend, a baby, nearly get banned from the grocery store for growling at the owner and manager, and also sic your Mama, who still scares the crap outta me, on one of the more vocal Church leaders in all of the eight weeks I was gone?”

Chad Michael Murray stared over the clutter that was his desk at the San Rio Police Department to eye his partner and longtime best friend. The tall, lanky cop had been gone to visit family in California for eight weeks and had come back with his light blonde hair sun-bleached even lighter and peeling sunburn.

He’d been expecting to find his town and his friend the same as when he left since nothing ever really changed in San Rio. When he pulled up in front of his friend’s house, Chad, to his surprise, found that something had changed… Or else he’d be looking for another reason for why he found his friend sitting on the roof in denim cut-offs dangling while a younger man in faded shorts and a t-shirt was clearly ticked off, shouting and gesturing to the house… A house with the sounds of power tools coming from inside.

“Jared! What is that thing upstairs and how much did you pay for it?”

“What thing? Define a little, Jen. I’ve put a lotta stuff in your upstairs lately. How about putting the ladder back up?”

“No, because if I put it back up you’re gonna come down and then I’ll feel like hitting you in the head!” Jensen shielded his eyes from the hot afternoon sun while still glaring up at the man on the roof. “And the thing in question is the heavy piece of furniture made out of that gleaming mahogany wood that looks like a crib!”

Jared had been hoping to keep Jensen from seeing that until they were alone but he should’ve known his boyfriend would go snooping the second he went on the roof to clean the gutters. “Ummm, it is a crib and I didn’t pay anything for it since it came outta my folks’ garage.” He ran his tongue over his teeth. He saw the familiar truck pulling into the driveway and could already see Chad’s eyes going wide. “I did mention to you about bringing it to replace that bassinet. It just took Mom longer than I liked to clean it up to her liking.”

Actually Natalie Padalecki’s exact words to her only son were closer to, “‘No, you are not just dusting it off and taking it and using a coat of Pledge later, Jared Tristan! Yes, you can have the crib but you are not putting that adorable sweet little bundle of joy in it until I have it cleaned properly; polished so this wood looks like it did when you were small enough to fit in it, and definitely not until I order a new mattress and pretty pink and white bedding to go with it!’”

So now he was stuck on a roof while his boyfriend yelled…not that he hadn’t expected that since, while Jensen had settled down a lot and was slowly easing into accepting Jared’s help a little more easily, he did still have his moments. Seeing the gleaming crib that smelled new and not something that all of Callum and Natalie’s seven kids had used had brought on one of those moments.

“You swear that you didn’t go out and buy it?” Jensen was wavering. The wooden crib looked so beautiful with the gleaming spindles and little canopy that he was more than a little afraid to touch. So, of course, that meant he had to take the nerves out on Jared…when he was on the roof. “If I call your Momma, she’ll tell me that it was in the garage?”

“Yes! And please call Mom. She’d love to talk your ear off and it’ll distract you from being so nervous while Ty and his crew are ripping the kitchen apart,” Jared encouraged. He looked up at the same time Jensen turned at the sound of a door closing. “Hey! Lobster-Man! Put this ladder up so I can get down and calm my boyfriend down!”

Chad had been staring for the last several seconds before finally deciding he must not have sun poisoning and that, apparently, his friend must have met the new neighbor… Met and done a whole lot more, if he read the signals between the two men correctly.

“Dude, why are you on the roof?” Chad asked as he crossed the lawn. He caught Jared’s sharp look of warning which confused him until he noticed how uneasy the other guy had gotten the closer he got.

Chad had known someone had moved into the side of the house next to Jared but he hadn’t seen the new guy in town or heard much about him… until he got home and began to get an interesting earful. What he heard depended on who he heard the tale from. He’d caught on quick that people in San Rio had varying opinions of one Jensen Ackles.

To Chad, the guy appeared younger than him and Jared; an inch or so taller than Chad but three inches shorter than Jared. He was skinny with short, dark blonde hair and black wire-rimmed glasses. Behind the lenses were green eyes that had a definite look of caution in them now.

“I was cleaning the gutters before Jensen got mad at me.” Jared wanted off the roof because he had told Jensen about Chad but he knew how his boyfriend still could be around strangers; especially loud and opinionated strangers… like Chad.

“I’m not mad at you.” Jensen turned back and looked up with a sigh, his ear pitched for sounds from the house that weren’t power tools and voices. “I… It just looks so nice and pretty that I’m worried she might do something to damage it and…”

“Jen, if you take a close look at the spindles, you’ll see where one of my sisters started cutting her teeth on the wood. Trust me, babe. That crib has seen it all and survived it. Nothing Piper could do would hurt it.” Jared made another motion to the ladder on the ground. “Put that up so I can come down and I’ll show you what else Mom sent along with it and… Wait, if you’re out here, where is Piper?”

“Who’s Piper?” Chad had heard some interesting little tidbits but had shrugged those off as exaggeration. He looked toward the porch when the front door open and closed and he had to fight not to let his mouth drop.

The happily chattering baby, currently in the arms of one of Jared’s cousins, looked adorable dressed in little pink coveralls with a baby toolbelt. She had a little pink hardhat, covering what he guessed was probably blonde hair since he could see bright green eyes. They looked like Jensen’s and he began to wonder if those things he’d heard were true.

“Hey, Jensen? The guys and I want to know if Pip can use the power tools. She’s already been trying to use her little rubber saw on my leg.” Tyler Padalecki jiggled the baby in his arms and covered his laugh at the look of shocked fear on her father’s face and the shout of outrage he recognized as his cousin come from the roof.

“No!” Two voices snapped the word and then Jared was growling at his cousin to give Jensen back his kid and go actually do some work so Jensen and Piper could have their house back before the little girl graduated from college, if not before.

“”If you hadn’t reminded Grams about all the work she didn’t do on this place before renting it, then maybe I wouldn’t have gotten a list as long as your arm with stuff to do and we would be out of Jensen’s hair by now.” Tyler stepped to the edge of the porch and looked up with a smirk. It turned into a grin when the baby in his arms squealed at seeing Jared. “Of course, I get to play with this cutie-pie every day so I’m not complaining.”

While Jensen was still unsure and hesitant around people, especially large groups of them, his daughter was much more relaxed… depending on the person. Luckily, all the members of the Padalecki family they had met had all been very kind, accepting and adored both father and daughter.

Of course, Jared had tried to avoid his family learning about his relationship. Not because he was worried about their reactions but because he knew how overwhelming even a small gathering of Padaleckis could be. He just hadn’t wanted to put Jensen through that if he didn’t have to.

That plan had worked until the blow-up at the market. His mother had paid a visit to the house to see exactly why her youngest had threatened to not only have his sister sue the goddamn place but boycott it until the owner got his head out of his ass. Natalie had arrived in time to see a frazzled and still pissed off Jared trying to soothe both a worried and shook up Jensen and a crying Piper.

Jensen had finally gotten a job at the local market bagging groceries and stocking shelves. He’d chosen to put his summer classes on hold so he could work during the day as well as the evening if he had to. It wasn’t a great job as far as pay went but it would give him enough to pay the rent and buy diapers since he’d flat out refused Jared’s offer to support him until he found a job he liked.

It was hard to find a babysitter because most of the teenagers had parents who either didn’t approve of him being gay or of him being a father, so Jared saved him then by showing up at his door one morning with a bright eyed, smiling girl in her late teens who’d taken one look at Piper and had just started cooing back at her when the baby cooed at her.

Katie, or Kit-Kat as Jared called her, was one of his six sister’s older daughters who was looking to start college in the fall to get a degree in child care so it was the perfect arrangement. The 18-year old with her uncle’s dimples was thrilled to watch Piper whenever Jensen had to work. Jared was on duty, now that he was off suspension. It had been Katie who’d called Jared at work one afternoon to tell him that there was trouble.

The trouble, as Jared learned upon getting home to an emotional Jensen, was that he’d just been rudely fired from the market because the day-time manager had disapproved of his lifestyle. Then, a pastor from one of the smaller churches had started badgering the owner when it got out to more people that, not only was Jensen gay and in an open relationship with Jared but he could also go against the Lord’s wishes and carry a child.

“Who made me this way, if not the Lord?” Jensen had demanded. He was furious that, once again, hate and misunderstanding could very well cost him the ability to care for his child. “It’s not fair! I do anything anyone wants. I did more than the job described but yet his excuse was the ‘image of his store’ and that he might lose customers because people might be afraid I’ll do something! That so-called pastor was there when he did it in front of the whole store. He said people like me shouldn’t be allowed to live, much less have children. He threatened… He said he’ll make them take her, Jay!”

Jared had been furious just from hearing the lame excuse for firing Jensen, who he knew had been working his ass off for the store for over two weeks. The unwarranted threat from a so-called man of the cloth to take Piper finished it for him. Jared knew who it was without even hearing the name.

“No one is taking Piper away from you, Jen,” he’d promised. He got Jensen settled more over at his place because his grandmother had started having Tyler work on Jensen’s side and he knew his boyfriend still hadn’t adjusted to the crew of men yet.

He’d gotten Katie to stay with both Jensen and Piper since his friend was still shaking and obviously scared. Jared headed for the market to pick up the pay that was owed and also to remind the owner about a few new laws about discriminating and firing without any real reason.

Usually Jared griped about having too many sisters but there were times when they came in handy. Britany was a lawyer with a sharp tongue and a hate for bullies, so she’d been on her way to meet him even though he gave her the barest details.

Of course, it had also been Britany that called their mother to inform her that her quiet, cop son nearly had his ass arrested for punching out the manager of the store. Not without reason, though, because too many witnesses were there to say how the manager had used several harsh, derogatory, and demeaning words not only about Jensen but his daughter as well.

By the time Natalie got to Jared’s house, Katie had gone home. Natalie took in Jared’s angry eyes but also how gentle he was as he sat on his sofa, holding a pale-faced young man who was stuttering his way through words and worries about losing his baby and their home. The baby in question sobbed and sniffled as if reacting to her Daddy’s tears.

“Jen, if that ass--moron, wants to risk being sued for illegally firing you, let him. There are other places in town that you can apply and they can’t not hire you just because of a thing in your genetics or because you’re gay. I’m a cop and I tell you they can’t.” Jared was saying all this without even knowing his mother had arrived; working to settle himself and the two people he loved. “Miller’s one of those racist bigots who preach fire and brimstone but ain’t perfect himself. He tried to get me banned from being a cop and it didn’t work. So, it won’t work if he tries to get CPS involved cause anyone with a brain can see how well you take care of Piper.”

Natalie could see that from the door. She could also see the change in her son. That told her that this was something a lot more than the few casual relationships she’d seen him have.

Even though she’d married into money and had seven children, she’d worked in hospitals and clinics as a social worker until she finally retired ten years ago. She could spot abuse a mile away and while she most certainly didn’t see it in regards to the big-eyed little girl who noticed her first, she most certainly could still see its aftereffects in the child’s father.

Her mother-in-law had told her who she’d rented to, so Natalie knew who Jensen was. She’d also heard the stories and rumors but had put those off as bitterness and hate. Now, as she took in the lean, worried young man who’d immediately tensed upon seeing her, she saw a battered young father fighting to keep a child he adored all the while adjusting to being in a world that would never fully understand him.

She hadn’t stayed long. She’d playfully scolded her son, smiled, and assured Jensen that of course it would all be fine and cuddled the baby. Then, she promptly gathered a few of her sisters-in-law and paid a visit to that small church outside of San Rio to read the riot act to the bigot of a pastor who preached there.

After that, Natalie badgered Jared tirelessly until he agreed to bring the little family out to the ranch where Jared had grown up on, for a ‘little’ picnic one Saturday. And by little, she’d meant all of her daughters, their husbands, their kids, a few of her in-laws, and assorted cousins.

Jared had resisted until finally he broke and begged Jensen to go with him. “Just come. We’ll stay five minutes to appease Mom and then we’ll take Piper to the park or the zoo.”

Of course Jensen had been hesitant. Crowds of people usually only meant stares and whispers but it was Jared’s family. And since he was trying to relax more and Jared had been putting up with so much more stress because of him, he finally agreed…on the condition that, if he or Piper got uncomfortable, they could leave.

On the morning of the picnic at the large cattle ranch, Jensen spent so long fussing and changing Piper into nearly every outfit she had. Jared finally kissed him in order to stop the panic attack that was very close to the surface. “It’s a picnic, sugar. It’s outside, so just put her in those little jean shorts, her pink bunny top and sneakers. Trust me, as soon as Mom sees her, we probably won’t see Piper again until we decide to leave; Mom will hog her and, if Katie’s there, Mom and Katie will probably fight over her.”

“They do know you’re gay, right?” Jensen knew it was a stupid question but this would be the first time in over a year that he’d been in a crowd of people; a crowd of people that may not approve of him for one reason or another.

Keeping one hand on the wheel of his Jeep, Jared reached over and took Jensen’s hand, which was nervously tapping. He brought it up to his lips and kissed it before he held it to his chest. “Yeah, they know I’m gay and have known it since I was 15. Mom and Katie, according to the moronic contractor who can’t lay carpet any slower than he is, Mom and Kit-Kat have already given glowing reviews about you and Sweet Pea to the family. I also swear to shield you from my sisters who tend to hug too much or grill people, though that’s mostly Britany.”

Jensen was a shaking mess by the time they pulled up and saw a lot of fancy cars. He was once again reminded that this was not his kind of party or place anymore, if it ever had been. His car was a rusted-out piece of junk that Jared had threatened to junk the next time it broke down on Jensen in the middle of nowhere with Piper in the car.

He thought back to the fancy clothes the people at his mother’s parties had worn. He looked at his faded jeans with frays and little holes and his old sneakers. He was just glad he could afford some new clothes for Piper, in addition to what he kept noticing Jared trying to sneak in on him.

“It’ll be alright, Jen,” Jared assured him with a soft kiss to the temple. “I swear my family might be loud and half-crazy but they will not hurt you or Piper. I swear they’re not like what you grew up around.”

And, from the first moment they stepped into the huge backyard that was already filled with people and the smells of food, Jensen began to realize he was right. He also realized that it was not, in fact, Jared’s Mom or niece who made a beeline for Piper. She was quiet but not crying. It was the young man that had been tearing Jensen’s house apart at the orders of his landlady.

“There’s my new girlfriend.” Tyler was about Jared’s height but leaner, despite working in construction. His hair was a lighter brown but a little longer than the shoulder length of Jared’s. They shared the same dimpled smile, though. His was shining as he approached with a small bite of banana held out. A week in Jensen’s place showed him what the baby liked to eat.

It took an hour of meeting various, friendly, smiling, and non-judgmental people before Jensen was coaxed to let his daughter out of his arms or Jared’s to go with Jared’s mother to see the small petting zoo of pets that lived on the ranch.

The one time when Jensen tensed the most and paled was when Jared’s father finally came over to where they were sitting on the patio with two of Jared’s sisters.

“So you’re the boy that pretty little girl belongs to?” Callum was 6’6” tall, broad, and muscular with thick, dark hair. His deep voice boomed as he addressed Jensen, who’d nervously shot to his feet at his approach.

Men like Callum Padalecki had always made Jensen nervous but that was before his life had changed. He didn’t immediately see the warm smile or calm eyes; all Jensen heard was the deep voice and felt his stomach clench. He felt warm fingers close over his as Jared stood beside him.

“Yes… sir,” Jensen murmured. He tried to locate his daughter while clamping down hard on the hand holding his. He prayed he didn’t either throw up or pass out from nerves that had suddenly come back. “I’ll… I’ll go get her and then we’ll-”

“Oh, she’s off with my wife and mother being fed ice cream. Nat yelled at Tyler’s idea of feeding her a hamburger.” The older man waved a hand while carefully laying his other on a tight shoulder. He didn’t miss the way Jensen jerked slightly as if he expected a blow to come. “Just sit on back down and eat more of that food before Jared’s Momma starts lecturing on how skinny you look.”

“Oh, no… I’m… fine, sir. I’m… not… I mean, I don’t eat a lot.” Jensen heard the low growl and knew Jared would be looking at him but old habits were hard to break. “I… appreciate your family inviting us and being nice to Piper. She really does like Katie and I hope that isn’t a problem for-”

“Jen.” Jared finally broke in when he couldn’t handle it anymore. He noticed that Jensen would get quiet around his family or he’d get that confused look when they included him in their conversations or even just talked to him. More than once, the cop had to wonder just how much worse off his friend’s early life had been than he’d shared with him. “It’s okay. You’re okay. Dad’s not judging. No one is and no one will.”

Callum had been watching the nervous young man with his son today. He’d known who he was and where he’d come from. His mother told him she’d rented the house to the boy that Barrett Ackles had so cruelly and hatefully kicked out over something no one had control over. So yes, he knew Jensen Ackles lived next door to Jared.

He’d seen Jensen once, as a boy. He had always felt sorry for him because he seemed to be so quiet and so ignored by even his family, much less other people. Now, as he looked at this grown young man, he saw that Jensen was so scared of being hurt or his child being judged as wrong. Now, he really did want to punch someone.

“Jensen,” he spoke his name and immediately, lowered green eyes lifted. “You and that baby girl that my wife will spoil, just like she does our other grandkids, are always welcome here. I’ll tell you right now that no one in this family will ever treat either of you wrong just because you’re gay or that, by an act of fate, you can give life like you did to that sweet little girl. Now, you calm on down and let Jared show you around while the boys eat. I’ll make sure they don’t feed Piper too much stuff.”

Jensen blinked a few times before slowly offering a shy smile and a quiet ‘thank you’. Jared’s oldest sister pulled him into a conversation about his one passion other than his daughter or Jared and that was drawing.

“Thank you for telling him that,” Jared murmured quietly, as he stepped to where his Dad was back at the grill. He looked to see who had Piper. “He’s been hurt by so many people and some people in town are being such jackasses that I know he was terrified to come here today.”

“It’ll take those people in town time to get used to him. Once they see that if they screw with that boy or try to hurt that baby, and that your family will have his back, I think that crap will change.” Callum eyed his boy as he watched Jensen with a love that the senior Padalecki hadn’t ever seen on him before. “You know he could still have trouble coming sometimes,” he remarked carefully. He knew about the Welling punk and also a few things his brothers had been saying from up in San Antonio. “You prepared to take that on, Jared?”

Jared’s lips curved as he heard Jensen’s first honest laugh that day. Tyler had brought Piper over with her face and hands covered in chocolate cake. The first thing she did was grab for her father’s face before deciding to lick the tasty treat off. “I love them, Dad,” he replied, voice thick with emotion. He allowed that feeling to settle, even though he’d known it for weeks. “I’ll take whatever comes but God take the asshole who tries to take either of them from me.”

That same event had happened close to a month ago. As Jared sat at his desk pretending to do paperwork and listen to his partner try to pump him for details, he thought back to that day at the house once he’d finally gotten down off the roof.

“Go pretend you’re actually rebuilding Jen’s kitchen and give me the baby,” Jared growled. The second he was on solid ground, he reached to take a laughing Piper out of his cousin’s hands. The moment he had her in the bend of one arm, he turned to Jensen and slid an arm around him to bring him closer. “I swear that I won’t let my cousins turn her into a tomboy,” he murmured, feeling the tension ease out of Jensen at his touch. “But she is cute in this little hardhat.”

“Hey, no babies in my construction zone without one of those,” Tyler called out. He disappeared into the house, raising his voice as he added. “That goes for her father and whatever we’re listing you under, Jare!”

Jensen smiled, ignoring Chad for the moment. He leaned up to lightly kiss Jared’s lips. It still felt odd to do so in the middle of the yard but he realized he couldn’t be true to who he was if he kept being afraid. “So long as she’s happy, she can be anything she wants to be.” He relaxed fully as his daughter squirmed until she was cuddled between them. “Thank you for bringing her the crib, Jay,” he murmured with another kiss.

The nickname was still new between them. It took Jensen a long time to bring himself to shorten Jared’s name. The first time he’d done it, he wasn’t sure Jared had heard him because he and Piper were playing with the food processor. Just as he was about to repeat it, the machine kicked off and Jensen found his back against the counter with Jared’s lips covering his in a deep kiss while Piper babbled to her stuffed bunny.

“Love you, Jen,” he murmured in between kisses, smiling. “And I love that you finally called me that.”

Jared kept his promise to go slow. He never rushed or pushed Jensen for more than he was prepared to give and he always watched what they did as far as kissing and a little touching if Piper was awake. The only time he pushed was when the house was being painted and the carpeting replaced and he wanted them to stay with him.

Jensen had resisted but when he realized the paint was making Piper cranky and it also giving him a headache to the point where he’d nearly passed out, when Jared pushed, he stopped fighting about it. The rest of that night, as he and Piper laid in Jared’s arms, he began to rationalize that sometimes it wasn’t so bad if he accepted help.

He was still uneasy meeting strangers and he still hadn’t found a job unless he counted drawing some pictures for a book that Carly Padalecki-Cohen was writing. As soon as Jared mentioned to Carly that Jensen could draw, she’d asked him to make some sketches so she could visualize better.

Meeting Chad made him leery because, while most of Jared’s cop friends had easily accepted them, there had been a few snide comments or sidelong looks that made both of them uneasy… until Jared caught on and simply said that his friends would accept his relationship and be nice or he could find new friends.

The wide-eyed guy in the yard blinked a few times when Jared introduced them but then he seemed to accept the news. He reached a hand out to Jensen and then a finger to a curious Piper.

The meeting between Chad and Jensen had made Jared nervous too. While his friend was friendly, he knew he also had a bad habit of speaking before thinking and he feared he might this time, too. The moment Chad held a finger out to Piper and began making baby noises at her, Jared relaxed and knew it would be fine.

It was still odd for Jared to be at work and away from Jensen and Piper during the day. He was grateful the Chief of Police hadn’t given him anymore stakeouts or late night shifts. The Chief knew both Jared and Jensen preferred him to be home at night… especially ever since the hang-ups had started.

At first, Jared had agreed with Jensen’s wary opinion that it was just wrong numbers. When it started happening multiple times a day, it started getting more annoying and shortly after, Jensen began waking up with nightmares so bad he’d almost throw up.

“Jared?” Chad threw a paper clip at him to bring his thoughts back to the present. “You never told me how you landed hip-deep in a ready-made family.”

“I opened my door one night,” Jared shrugged. He fingered the arrowhead he wore on a chain under his crisp, button-down, navy blue shirt.

When Carly paid Jensen for the sketches he did for her, his boyfriend had been so stunned he’d asked Jared what to do with the money. He debated over whether or not to put it aside for rent or diapers. Finally, Jared had asked him when was the last time he’d bought something just for fun? He learned that, despite growing up wealthy, Jensen had never really been allowed to buy ‘fun’ stuff.

Jared had taken them downtown to just walk the streets that were lined with shops. He told Jensen to spend that money on something that made him smile. In the end, Jensen had bought a new pair of jeans, a toy for Piper, and the arrowhead pendant for Jared.

“That made me happy,” the younger man had said, when Jared had slipped it over his head and then held him and Piper. “You being with us makes me happy, Jay. I… I love you.”

Both young men had faced how they felt for the other and where their relationship was going but it was still difficult for Jensen to say the words. He’d never heard them until meeting Jared. He had only really said them himself to his daughter before now. When he spoke them to Jared in the middle of a sidewalk one evening, he meant them and felt another knot inside him loosen.

For Jared, he knew he’d never forget that moment or the subtle changes that began to happen with Jensen after it. It still wasn’t easy for his friend to accept help or let Jared bring things in for them without tensing up but he began to try more. Jensen was also learning to not panic if Piper was out of his sight for more than 10 seconds. This was good because Natalie started taking Piper one day a week in order to give Jensen some time to himself and also so she could spoil her.

Piper was never gone overnight, despite Jared’s mother’s best efforts to convince him. The most Jensen would go for was a couple hours one evening, so he and Jared could have a quiet dinner at home. By the time the men heard baby chatter on the porch, Jared could feel the slight tension melting out of his boyfriend. It was gone fully the second he cuddled Piper to his chest.

Jared was debating whether or not to take some of his own vacation time in a couple months to help Jensen find a job that suited him. He also thought about maybe taking the pair on a little vacation but he’d discuss that with Jensen one evening once Tyler was finished with his side of the house.

It would seem weird once the remodeling was done and Jensen and Piper moved back to their side full-time. Jared had gotten used to them being with him and the promise not to push was the only thing keeping him from asking the man to just move in with him.

Realizing he’d zoned out and had missed not only what Chad said but also his Chief, Jared cringed. He tried to offer an excuse when his desk phone took off ringing. “Detective-What the hell?” He’d just started the greeting when the combined sounds of loud noises in the background, a muffled male voice shouting obscenities, a screaming baby and Jensen’s voice all hit him. “Jen? Jensen, what’s wrong?”

“Jared! God, Jay… He’s… Piper and I were outside playing in the yard cause they were finishing up painting or something and Tyler had to leave to pick up a light and… He pulled up and… He said he’s tired of waiting for me to stop playing! He’s gonna t-take her and sell her to a family! Jay, please! I can’t let him take her!”

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**Baby Steps**

**Chapter Six**

The panic in Jensen’s voice was made worse by the scared baby and the muffled shouts and pounding. It was enough to have Jared on his feet, ignoring the questions being shot his way by multiple people.

“Jen, who’s there? Who said he’s taking Piper and selling her?” Jared heard Chad curse and he thought he heard someone shouting to get a patrol car to Jared’s house. He focused on the nearly sobbing man on the phone. “Sugar? Calm down a second and tell me who.”

“Tom! He said he’s tired of waiting for me to see reason so he’ll sell my daughter and drag me back to San Antonio!” Jensen was trying to relay the trouble to Jared while soothing his terrified daughter. All the while, his own heart was beating so fast he could hear it in his ears. He heard glass breaking. “Jay, he’s breaking the window! I… I can’t get out the back door cause I took Piper upstairs to hide. Even if I could get her away, the car won’t start and…We’re scared, Jay… I… Please don’t let him-”

Jared was beyond scared himself. He was also furious that Tom Welling had the guts to show his face and then threaten to steal and sell his own daughter. “Jen, whose house are you in?” he asked. He reached into his desk for his sidearm and noticed that Chad was also grabbing his.

“Y-yours.” Jensen jumped as something else shattered. He heard the enraged voice of his ex shouting his name amongst foul curses. “I… I just panicked when I saw him. When he said that, I told him to go to hell and that he wasn’t touching her. He said I couldn’t stop him because no one gave a damn about some faggot and-”

“I care, Jen. You know what he’s said is just lies to scare you because that’s how they controlled you before. He’s scaring you but you know you’re not alone.” Jared was calming down as his brain began to work again. He tried to calm Jensen down. “You’re in my house and he’s breaking into my house. Okay, listen to me now, sugar. Go into my room, lock the door, push the dresser in front of it, and then go lock yourself and Piper in the bathroom. Don’t come out until either Chad or I come for you.”

Jensen was backing down the hall toward the bedroom. He was scared but the need to protect was outweighing the need to hide. “I… I have to keep him away from her, Jay. I don’t care what he does to me but… I won’t let him put his hands on _our_ daughter.”

Jensen was running into Jared’s bedroom and he heard something heavy come against the door. He worked to get both a crying, sobbing baby and her seat into the bathroom. “She’s more your daughter now than she was ever his, Jared. I want her to be _your_ daughter- _our_ daughter… If you want us." He wiped red cheeks with his thumb before gently kissing her head. “Shh... shh, don’t cry, baby. Jay’s coming for you. I love you, Jared. I-" He heard a loud crash and he closed his eyes to push back the spark of terror. “I think he just broke down the door, Jay. The baby’s in the tub and I’ll… I’ll keep him away if I can but… hurry. I-”

“Jen, don’t you leave that room. I’m on my way and there are cops on their way who are closer.” Jared wished his damn phone was cordless because he would’ve been halfway home already. His legs had nearly given out when he heard what Jensen said about wanting Piper to be his. He swore that he’d do whatever it took to make that happen. “Just stay with her, Jensen. Welling’s not hurting either of you and… Jen? Jensen? Son of a bitch!”

Realizing the line was suddenly dead, Jared dropped the receiver and bolted for the door. “That asshole broke down my door! He broke into my home and is threatening my family!” he shouted. He heard the deep, stern voice of the San Rio Police Chief JD Morgan shouting for him not to do anything stupid. “Screw stupid! Someone call the hospital cause if Welling has touched Jensen or Piper, I will be putting him either in ICU or on a slab!”

“Murray! Go with him and I’ll have whatever squads are out move toward Jared’s place. I'll also call the DA and tell him what’s going on.” JD Morgan had come up in the San Rio police since he was a rookie. He’d seen many a cop come and go in his time but Jared was the rare kind that actually cared about being one. He had a huge heart and an even bigger temper when it was lit.

Ever since learning of who Jared was seeing; who was living next door to his often hot-headed detective, JD had been concerned. He was a native Texan. He knew all about the rich and powerful, so of course he knew the name Ackles. The name Welling was also known. As he shouted orders to his officers, most of whom had taken off after Jared, he hoped the DA and a couple lawyers he knew could keep this mess from turning into one of those where some spoiled punk who was used to getting his own way got off because of Daddy’s money… He also hoped that Jared didn’t kill anyone.

The moment the phone went dead, Jensen knew it wasn’t by accident. He knew Tom had either cut the line or ripped the cord from the wall to keep him from calling for help. “It’ll be okay soon, baby girl. You’ll be safe in here until Jared comes for you.”

Jensen knew he had to keep the man downstairs. He couldn’t let Tom reach the second floor, so he forced a watery smile before kissing his daughter’s soft hair one more time and placing her stuffed bunny and her favorite rubber toy in her hands. “I love you, Piper. Daddy’s been a coward all his life until you came along. Now it’s time to show people that I’m not a punching bag anymore and I will keep you safe.”

The scared crying and sniffles broke his heart and a piece of Jensen wanted to stay with his daughter. He wanted to hold her and rock her but he knew if Tom found her; if he took her, he’d lose his baby and Jensen had sworn to keep her warm, safe, and happy no matter what it took. He locked the door from the inside, shut it, and pushed a heavy chest in front of the door.

He could hear the furious loud voice of his ex--if Tom could even be considered that--shouting as he broke things from downstairs. With a courage that Jensen prayed he really had, he stepped out of the bedroom and took the steps on shaking legs until he reached the bottom. “Get the hell out.”

From the second he’d seen the man again, the fear that Jensen realized he’d always had with Tom was there. This time, as he faced the 6’2” ex-football player stalking from the kitchen toward him, Jensen knew that what he felt now was anger and the fear wasn’t for him but his child.

“Get the fuck out and stay away from us, Tom." He heard the steel in his own voice and briefly wondered where it had come from. He watched the brief look of surprise cross the smooth, handsome face before rage replaced it. He remembered that Tom had never liked to be talked back to or denied. “How the hell did you even find us?”

As far back as elementary school, Tom Welling had known what he wanted he could have and fuck those who tried to say otherwise. His old man’s money bought him his way through school. It had bought him the best clothes, the best cars, the best whores. There hadn’t been one single thing in 28 years that it hadn’t bought him. There was only one exception and he was about to fix that right now, as soon as he reminded this little prick who he was and got rid of that damn little brat.

“I told you before you ran that you’d never find anyone who wanted you, Jenny." He sneered as he used the name because he knew Jensen hated it. “Someone who catered something for your brother mentioned that she thought she’d seen you down here at a party or something. Of course, when the name Padalecki was mentioned, we both knew you were probably either whoring yourself out or working as a maid or something since they’re too rich for you. People like them wouldn’t be caught dead with someone like you or the thing you had.”

“My daughter is not a thing and you made your opinion of me and my choice as plain as my parents did so get the fuck away from us and stay away." Jensen felt the doubts begin to creep back as they always did when Tom talked about how stupid or worthless he was. A glance to the mantle showed him a recent photo of him and Piper with Jared and he remembered Jared’s words. “I called the cops, Tom. They’re on the way so save yourself the hassle and just leave. I-ugh!”

A hard backhand knocked Jensen off balance. It caused other memories to flash but then the dim cries of his daughter brought him back and his hand was grabbing Tom’s arm to jerk him back and away from the steps. “No! You will not touch her!” he snapped. Fear and fury gave him more strength then he normally would’ve had. “You’re not taking my daughter and you’re insane if you think I’m going back with you!”

While Tom was only a little taller than him, he still had the bulk he’d put on playing football in high school and college. That gave the strength advantage to the angry Texan as he spun and grabbed Jensen and punched him in the face, knocking him into the living room.

“You’ll do what I goddamn say, freak!” He'd always thought that Jensen was a perfect piece of ass; someone he could keep on the side for the kind of sex he preferred. When he'd learned Jensen had a genetic flaw that let him have kids, he'd been furious and disgusted.

Jensen had always been a sheltered, shy dishrag that people walked over, so Tom figured old man Ackles would get his way. The kid would be aborted and he’d move right back into using Jensen whenever he liked. Then, Jensen started growing a backbone when he’d refused his parents' demands and actually had the brat.

He’d not only had it but he’d actually moved away. Tom and his best friend, Jensen’s brother, figured it wouldn’t take long for him to realize he couldn’t survive on his own. He would come crawling back to the family and to Tom.

Hell, Tom had even found a nice rich couple in another country who’d buy the thing. He knew Barrett Ackles would make sure his son could never make this mistake again. Yet, Jensen had stayed gone. He hadn’t called or written, begging anyone for forgiveness or money. The longer it went, the angrier Tom got because, thanks to that bastard Kane, his reputation was hurting in a way even his old man wasn’t willing to touch.

No, Tom’s old man who’d paid for and gotten him out of everything had flat out said that while he’d overlooked a lot, he wouldn’t overlook rape. If Tom continued in his obsession to get Jensen back under his thumb; if he actually considered hurting a child, he’d be on his own.

Tom dismissed the caterer's rumors of Jensen being spotted with a Padalecki--never mind which one--as made-up stories. No one in that family would be caught dead with someone as useless as Jensen; certainly not the only son of Callum Padalecki. When Tom heard about Jensen maybe being sighted at a Padalecki function, he chose to come to San Rio to put this to right, even if that meant he had to beat the asshole unconscious to do it.

“I gave you plenty of time to get over this stupid rebellious stage or whatever the fuck it is. Now you think you’re gonna embarrass your family name and me by hiding out in this hick town, living in this…shack and thinking you’re good enough to rub elbows with one of the cattle barons in Texas? Hell no.” Tom landed a few more blows to Jensen’s face; he used to love hearing him try to tell him to stop. This day, there was no begging; there was no fear. Instead, there was something he’d never seen in those green eyes before that made him hit more. When he let go of Jensen's throat and shoved him down, he glared as the wood and glass coffee table broke.

He began to kick viciously the longer it went that he didn’t get a cry, a sob or a plea. “You aren’t refusing me, Jenny! It’s time to grow up and face who you belong to and what you are. I said I wasn’t letting go and now I’m taking you back. I’m getting rid of that thing and making sure you can’t do that again cause I plan to fuck you whenever I want and I’m not worrying about knocking you up again!” He bent down to grab a handful of T-shirt and sneered at the bloody man who still tried to fight back. “You’ve been mine since your brother practically sold you to me! Mine! No one else will have you! No one will ever want you!

“You’re a freak! You always were! Too shy, too quiet. You think you can make it on your own? Look at you!” He drew his fist back again. “You can’t hide what you are, Jenny! You can’t hide that thing you call a baby! No one wants a freak! No one will ever love you! Look at me, damn it! You look at me and tell me who you belong to and maybe I just won’t drop that thing in a body of water on the way back home! Tell me!” He screamed.

Jensen’s ears were ringing from a combination of his heart pounding and Tom’s shouting. He was in pain and his body was screaming for unconsciousness but he fought the urge to accept the blackness. So long as Tom was beating on him or kicking him, he wasn’t a threat to Piper.

He felt something crack when he went through the coffee table and could only hope nothing was seriously broken or punctured. As he dimly heard the command, he also thought he could hear other sounds. He thought he heard sirens but no longer did and part of him feared that perhaps Tom’s money would keep the police and Jared from coming. When he finally forced his eyes to clear and look up, it wasn’t the enraged eyes of Tom Welling he saw. Instead, something pulled his watery, wavering vision over the man’s shoulder.

“…Jared,” Jensen murmured through split and bloody lips. He no longer cared about the pain or the enraged man beating him. He knew, no matter what else happened now, that Piper would be safe. He felt himself drifting.

“What?!” Tom screamed. His fist pulled back to hit again. “Who the fuck is Jared? Who-what?”

Strong fingers gripped the wrist that had been drawing back. It was the metallic click of a gun being cocked as the muzzle pressed into the back of his neck, however, that shocked Tom into silence.

“That, asshole, would be me and if you don’t get your fucking hands off of him in the next two seconds, I will put a bullet in this empty head of yours.” Jared’s voice was low, hard, cold, and without a trace of his normal drawl. “Step back and keep your hands where I can see them. Jen? How bad he hurt you?”

Jared had broken every known speed limit in San Rio including his Jeep’s max speed but he didn’t care. All he wanted was to get home to Jensen and Piper and also to smash a fist through Tom Welling’s throat if he dare hurt them.

There were two other cop cars en route to his place but thanks to Jared’s driving, he’d gotten there at the same time they had. He hadn’t paid any attention to the voices telling him to let someone else go in first. No, he was already drawing his weapon as he ran across the yard, avoiding or hopping over the scattered toys in the grass and also the broken glass and kicked-in door of his home.

They’d all heard the loud voice screaming threats and insults but all Jared heard when he entered the living room was Jensen’s ragged, weak voice saying his name. It took all of his strength to not pull the trigger the second he took in the damage that had been done to Jensen. When Tom's fist drew back, he was moving to grab it and raise the Beretta he carried.

Jensen’s face was bloody and bruised. One eye looked swollen already but it was the shattered glass and wood, along with the deep gash on his head that worried Jared. One glassy eye seemed to try to focus on him but only a soft, choked groan came out as fingers went to his throat to keep him from speaking.

“This is a private domestic matter between myself and my… partner.” Tom was furious at some local sticking his nose in where it didn’t belong, not even catching all of Jared’s words. “Mind your own business before I call the police on you for trespassing or-let go of me this second!” He gritted. The hand holding his wrist tightened painfully.

“You’ll call the cops on me for trespassing?” Jared was fighting his basic need to hurt the bastard who’d hurt Jensen. Even from the living room, he could hear Piper crying. He heard feet on his steps and knew one of the other officers was going up to make sure no one else was in the house that could hurt her. He focused on this matter for the moment. “Really? Hey, Detective Murray?” he called tightly, feeling his partner close behind him. “Whose house is this?”

Chad had taken one look at the damage to the door, the windows, the inside that he could see and the battered man laying on the floor with fingers still around his throat. He rubbed the back of his neck. He’d barely survived the drive here, so he pitied this asshole when Jared cut loose.

“Technically, your grandmother owns it but you happen to rent this side of it, Detective Padalecki.” He stepped in with his badge out and his weapon drawn and smirked at a frowning Tom Welling. “Yeah, jackass, you just broke down the door and ransacked a cop’s house. Of course, that won’t be what makes Jared kick your ass. Ambulance is on the way, Jare,” he told his partner.

“My house, my boyfriend, and just so you know before you pull the family name card... My dad trumps yours in money and influence, Welling. You won’t be buying your way out of this one.” Jared dug the barrel of his weapon harder into the man’s neck, seeing his fingers dig in tighter. “Let Jensen go or I’ll break your other hand.”

Tom considered calling the man’s bluff until it finally sank in the name he heard. He sneered. “Pretending to be a cop? Didn’t think you’d be that stupid… But, then, if you’re fucking him and know about that-ugh!” He screamed when his wrist was jerked back. He was pulled away to hit the doorway hard with an enraged Jared in his face.

“You call that baby one more filthy name, you call Jen one more name or insinuate anything about him, or in fact you open your mouth about anything and I will end you,” Jared snarled. He heard sirens as well as tires screeching to a stop. “You come to my town, break into my home, threaten my family, and then think you’re walkin’ away? I will see you in a cell before you ever can hurt Jensen or Piper, Welling! You should’ve been in one the night you raped him!”

“He wanted it!” Tom grunted as a large hand grabbed his shirt. He slid a disgusted look to where Chad was kneeling next to an unmoving Jensen. Paramedics were coming in the door just ahead of a freaked out Tyler. “He’d been leading me on! He deserved what I gave him since no one else would touch him! If I’d’ve known what he was before, I would’ve made sure he…”

“Jared!” Matt Cohen, another detective and Jared’s brother-in-law, came through the door in time to grab his arm. “Don’t! Let us cuff the bastard and get him out of here while you take care of Jensen and… Where’s Piper?”

Jared’s fury was plain but a low moan of pain began to pull him back. A voice yelling from the top of the steps about a key to the bathroom door had his head jerking up and around to nail his cousin. “Get your ass up there and rip that damn door off the hinges if you have to! Just get to Piper.”

“What the hell happened?” Tyler demanded. A single look at the rage in Jared’s eyes as well as Jensen’s condition, the broken door, and glass had him taking the steps to the second floor two at a time. “You better have that asshole locked somewhere tight cause if that baby’s hurt, I have a truck full of power tools I plan to use and that’s before Dad and Uncle Cal get here!” He yelled on his way up.

“If Piper’s hurt, Tyler won’t get a goddamn chance to hurt you,” Jared growled. He pulled back to let Matt slam Tom face first into a wall and jerk his hands behind him while reading him his rights. “I’ll do it.”

Tom was even more furious that these damn cops thought they could arrest him for simply coming to get what he saw as his. “You can’t arrest me! I didn’t do anything wrong! He’s mine! He took what I was going to sell and-”

“Do yourself a favor and shut the hell up." Matt told him evenly, furious that even now this stuck-up little prick was still mouthing off things that would go against him in the long run. “Hell, I can haul you in for breaking and entering, not to mention the assault charges, attempted murder, kidnapping, and baby selling since you keep saying that was your plan. No defense lawyer in the state will touch you.”

“It’s not like it’s a real baby!” Tom argued. He didn't understand why these men weren’t getting it. He tried to shove away from the wall and noticed Jared kneeling beside Jensen. “This town so lacking in hot bodies that you want to risk this reject, Padalecki?” He sneered. He ignored the warning hand on his chest or the gun in his face. “He ain’t worth the time! He’s got nothing now and he’ll never be anything but a-”

“Oh shut the hell up!” Chad had finally had enough and popped the raging man in the jaw just as the Chief was coming through the door with a tall, dark haired man in a suit. “Whoops.”

JD Morgan had been getting reports but it was what he saw when he and the District Attorney walked in, past the broken down door that made up his mind. “Get him into a car and get his ass to the station. Put a guard on him and don’t let anyone in with him until I get back or the DA wants a go,” he ordered sternly, ignoring the lame explanation Chad tried to offer with a wave of his hand. “How bad?”

Chad glanced over to hear his partner snarl at a medic but he could only shrug and hope it wasn’t worse than this even looked like.

“Jen?” Jared knelt down beside his boyfriend as the medics worked to see how bad he might be hurt. “Jensen? It’s okay, sugar. Matt’s got Welling out of here and Tyler’s getting Piper.” He smoothed shaking fingers over pale, cold skin that was bloodied and bruised. “Can you hear me, Jen?”

The pain was incredible but the low, worried voice brought Jensen back enough to force open the eye that wasn’t swelled. He looked up into deep, hazel-flecked with gold eyes staring at him. He tried to speak but the bruises around his throat burned and cut the words off.

His head ached and he tasted blood on his lips. He hoped that was just from where his lip had split or he'd bit his tongue. A noise from above had panic returning but before he could try to force his body to move, gentle hands were touching him and he could hear Jared speaking to him.

“Shh, it’s okay, Jen. That’s probably the bathroom door coming down so Tyler can get to Piper. She’ll be safe and so will you now,” Jared quickly reassured. He was torn between staying with Jensen and going for the baby himself. “These guys are gonna take you to the ER for X-rays and stitches. We need to see how bad Welling hurt you but… No, no… Shh... Shh, sugar, I’ll be there. I’ll bring Piper so she’ll be the first thing you see when you wake up." He caught the weak hand that reached for him. “I promise this won’t ever happen again, Jen. He won’t ever touch you or try to hurt Piper again.”

Jensen didn’t like hospitals. He didn’t trust them, especially if Tom was involved. He knew he needed to go because his head had hit hard and he’d heard something break but hoped it was just a rib. He just wasn’t sure how to express his fears to Jared when his tongue didn’t want to function correctly.

“Don’t… let...” He groaned as strange hands began to move him as gently as possible from the floor to a stretcher. He could tell that Jared’s hand hadn’t left his and, while other sounds were dim and fuzzy, he could hear his daughter’s choked cries getting closer. “Don’t let them…”

“No one will take her, Jensen,” Jared promised. He frowned a little at the weak head shake, ignoring the hovering medics who were trying to measure Jensen’s vital signs and secure him to the stretcher. “What is it, Jen?” he asked. He watched closely as the hand he was holding moved down. When Jensen touched his stomach, suddenly some of the words he’d heard Welling hurl made sense. Jared’s blood ran cold when it clicked what his boyfriend was trying to say to him. “No, babe. No… I swear to you that I will not let anyone in that hospital do anything to you that will hurt you or take that choice away from you. I’ll be right behind the ambulance as soon as I get Piper and I’ll call Laurie so she’ll be the one looking after you.”

The one thing Jared was suddenly glad for about having six older sisters, all of whom still lived in the area and were in one field or another, was that he could call on them when he needed help… like he was about to. “I’ll be there with the baby when you wake up, Jen,” he promised. He saw a medic lift a needle while mouthing 'for pain'.

Jared’s fingers still shook when they turned Jensen’s face toward him as he leaned closer. “I’m proud of you for facing Welling and for trying to keep Piper safe until I got here. I promise when you’re fully awake, you and I will discuss how this was a better plan than hiding with our daughter.” He could feel eyes on him but that wasn’t important to him.

The important thing to Jared was the weak smile that Jensen gave him when he said it. “Love you, Jensen,” he whispered. He pressed a butterfly kiss over split lips and closed his eyes to hide the emotion at what only he heard returned. “I will, sugar. I will always look after you both.”

"Jared." JD’s hand on a shaking shoulder made Jared ease back to allow the medics to move. Before the one with the gear could slip out, Jared had him by the collar.

“My sister treats him and no one else.” He growled lowly, jerking the man closer. “No one touches him and nothing gets done to him that he doesn’t want or else the asshole in a cell won’t be the only one who bleeds tonight.”

The medic blinked but nodded. “Detective, I got it. Relax and just follow after us. Nothing will happen to him.”

“Dude, let the guy go so he can drive,” Chad pulled him back and then aimed him at the steps. “By the way, your cousin’s bleeding.”

Ignoring the Chief of Police and the DA, Jared gave one last look back at the stretcher that was put in the ambulance and then he was whirling to hold out his hands for the red-faced, sobbing baby. “Hey, there’s my sweet little girl." He took her from Tyler and held her tightly against his chest, feeling her tiny body shaking while her little fingers curled in his shirt. “Shhh, it’s okay now, Piper. You and Daddy are safe. I’m with you and pretty soon we’ll be with Daddy.”

Cops were all over his house checking the damages, taking fingerprints and photos. It was all blur and noise to Jared by this point as he sat on the bottom step to cradle and soothe Piper. Finally, her hiccupping sobs lessened into sniffles.

He wiped her face with a cold cloth Chad had brought. He attempted to get her to drink some juice as he figured she’d been crying for a good while.

“We’re gonna go see Daddy now, Sweet Pea,” he whispered. He was nuzzling her soft cheek and feeling her clinging to him when he happened to look up to see his cousin still holding a towel to his nose. “What happened to you?”

“Oh… I… tripped,” Tyler muttered. He shot a dark glare at a uniformed cop that had been upstairs with him. “Shut up.”

“He was in such a hurry to get to the baby that he didn’t notice the little plastic hammer in her hand and she wailed it at him,” The cop snickered. “We’re signing that kid up for softball as soon as she’s old enough, Padalecki.”

“That’s my girl.” Jared grinned down at Piper. He saw that her eyes were trying to stay open and he knew she was still scared and confused. “No worries now, baby. I’m here and I’ll keep you and Daddy safe… I want him locked up and away from them.”

Jared pushed to his feet with the baby still tucked protectively to him and growled at the DA who’d just gotten off the phone and finally approached him. “I’ll press charges for the B&E, the damage he caused to my place, so that’s a start. I want him in a cell for threatening them; for what he did to Jen now and before.” He ignored the cough from the Chief and stepped up to poke a finger into a hard chest while hazel eyes that matched his lifted in mild warning. “I also want his signature on a paper stating that he gives up any right, name, whatever to her because even though it’s plain what he thinks of Piper, if Welling thinks he can hurt Jensen by doing something, he will.”

“Will Jensen press charges against him for this attack and sign a statement swearing what happened between him and Welling before?” Shaun Padalecki had already been on the phone with several people, including a special prosecutor since he would have to distance himself from the actual case but would still make sure it was handled correctly. “If Miller and I can work up a deal where Welling signs all future paternal rights away and still sees in the inside of some facility, will he sign that?”

“You do what you have to in order to keep that jackass away from them and as soon as I reassure Jensen that he won’t be hurt or punished for it, he’ll sign whatever you need him to.” Jared eyed his open door; the broken windows and the damage to the inside while trying not to think of the fear Jensen had gone through before he got there. “Whatever else, he does not buy his way out of this. Not this time. And you… fix my home and get Jen’s finished so it’ll be ready when I bring him home.” He shot at Tyler as he walked out to his jeep.

Moving the car seat from Jensen’s broken down car to the rear seat of his jeep, Jared carefully secured a sleepy Piper inside with her bunny and a blanket. “I’m going to the hospital to be with Jen. You go back to the station and make sure Welling doesn’t weasel his way loose.” He told Chad, who’d approached him, worry plain. “If anything happens, you call me and I’ll be there but Chad… He can’t walk from this. Not after what he’s done and said this time.”

“We got this, Jared. You go take care of Jensen and Piper. It’ll be cool.” Chad assured his partner. He was debating on going with him until he decided that he could probably do more at the station, even if that meant accidentally on purpose losing a prisoner for an hour or so.

Jared drove carefully to the hospital. Traumatizing Chad with his driving was one thing but he didn’t want to scare the baby more than she’d already been that day.

Pulling into the lot, he shut the ignition off and just rested his forehead against the wheel for a moment. “Please let him be alright.” He murmured, rubbing his eyes and looking back to see sleepy green eyes peering at him. He smiled. “Let’s go see your daddy, Sweet Pea.”

By the time Jared got Piper unhooked, did a fast diaper change, and made a note to thank whoever put the diaper bag in the jeep, it was ten minutes later. He steeled himself for any possible bad news as he walked into the ER. He saw a nurse that he swore had worked there when his mom was a social worker. She steered him into an empty waiting room with orders from Dr. P. to stay put and not to knock anyone out.

It seemed like days instead of hours to Jared. He switched between sitting and pacing the waiting room while Piper went from napping in his arms to laying on the floor on a blanket a nurse brought in for her. Eventually, she ended up rolling and kicking until Jared sat on the floor and gently tickled her.

He was blowing bubbles against her belly just to hear her laugh when the door to the waiting room opened. Expecting one of his family or Chad, Jared didn’t look up right away. He was fascinated by the way Piper’s eyes shined like Jensen’s did when he was happy.

“So you must be the boy’s new heathen lover or do you pay him for the sex he gives you?”

The baby gripping his fingers was all that kept Jared from responding the first way his brain wanted to. He lifted his eyes to see the scowling, hard-set face. He knew on instinct that this was Jensen’s father standing in the open door, glaring hatefully between him and Piper.

“If you’re referring to Jensen then yeah, I’m his boyfriend.” Jared gently gathered Piper up into his arms and cradled her in one arm while keeping his other hand free but made no motion to extend it as he met the hard gaze. “You might want to take back the other comment since your son and I haven’t even made love yet and I find it offensive that you’d assumed that of either of us.”

Barrett Ackles curled his lip up at the young man in jeans and a plain t-shirt under a wrinkled button down. He took in the long hair that touched his shoulders as well as boots and judged him to be just as cheap and low as most of the people his son must associate with. After all, he'd chosen the thing in his arms over common sense.

“You must have more brains than most of the riff-raff these days and don’t want another of those.” He jerked his chin toward the baby. "If I had gotten my way, they’d fix it so he’d never be able to- hey, now. Boy, you simmer down.” Barrett took a step back when the boy straightened to his full height, anger flashing on his face. “You clearly don’t know who I am or-”

“Oh, I know exactly who you are, Mr. Ackles." Jared brought Piper up so she could curl her fingers into his hair and he held her tighter when he felt her shaking as if knowing this man was bad. “I know you’re Jen’s father. I know you kicked him out of your family. I know you took what was his by right because he refused your orders to get rid of his baby. I know he wouldn’t want you here and I know he won’t want to see you so whatever you’re here for you can leave now.”

Barrett was stunned by this punk’s gall to talk to him like he was someone other than some small-town faggot that his so-called son was screwing with. “I’m not here to see him. I couldn’t care less how he is or has been. I’m only here to make sure he gives the local police a decent story so Tom isn’t dragged down by this mess.”

“You… You came clear to San Rio to try to force or bully Jensen into lying to the cops about Welling breaking in and beating him to a bloody pulp while threatening to take Piper and sell her?” Jared knew he’d heard it but needed to verify it.

“Boy, I know this isn’t a big town so I’m not expecting a lot of smart people but you look like a bright one, even if your taste in lovers is lacking and immoral." Barrett shook his head like he was speaking to someone who was a little slow. “The best thing for everyone concerned would be if Tom had gotten rid of that...” He flicked a dismissive finger and missed the flash of rage building in Jared’s eyes. “Tom might swing a little loose but he’s got promise, unlike my so-called son. Whatever Jensen did to bring what he did down on him, that’s on him. He’ll keep his mouth shut just like he did about those lies he tried to spread about Tom back home or-”

“Tom Welling broke into a cop’s home. He smashed in the front door, broke several windows, and busted stuff up while beating Jensen up when he was protecting Piper.” Jared’s eyes flashed angrily as he took a step forward. “Jensen will press charges against Welling this time and they will stick. They will stick because the cop in question will make damn certain they stick and if you or anyone else tries to threaten Jen or use his daughter against him, then I’ll make certain you share a cell with Welling.”

“You smart-ass punk!” Barrett was red in the face. No one had ever dared to speak to him in that tone or dared to stick up for his son except for the Kane punk back in San Antonio. “I can own this town and your precious cops! A large check will change that hick cop’s mind and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay out of what doesn’t concern-what?” He looked back to follow the strong hand that had reached out to grab the wrist that had just moved to shove Jared. “Callum?”

Callum Padalecki had just arrived with his wife when they overheard the biggest part of that altercation. “I shouldn’t have stopped you. I should’ve let you put your hand on him just to see your army of fancy lawyers and PR people try to get your ass out of trouble for pushing a cop; a cop who was holding a baby no less." He smirked at the confused face of his former college rival while also blocking the door as best he could for the moment before hardening his face. “But then, if you had actually touched Jared, my wife would do more to you than she already wants to. Hurting your son is bad enough. Putting your hands on our son? No, Nat’s gonna hurt you for that.”

“Your…son?” Barrett stared at the man and back at the young man who was now smirking and holding out a badge. “This-”

“Oh, hell no, you do not get to use that word about my son or Jensen ever again you self-righteous, small-minded arrogant…” Natalie had finally shoved past her husband to haul off and nail the other man with her purse. She put herself between him and Jared and Piper. “Jared, you take our surrogate granddaughter down the hall. Your sister’s waiting to take you both to see Jensen and you let your father handle this after I’m done telling this--man, just what I think of him, his wife, his family, and the jackass that his line came from.”

“And your momma’s on a roll.” Callum smiled. He nudged his son out of the waiting room but laid a hand on his shoulder. “He can bluster all he wants but you make sure you tell Jensen that he’s not alone this time. He’s got family now that will have his back and that Welling won’t do this again. Now get going while I keep-Nat! Don’t cause a scene that ends up with our son or son-in-law arresting you now!”

Jared couldn’t love his parents more than he did right now. “We’re gonna go see your daddy now, Sweet Pea,” he whispered. Piper was snuggling against him. He shot his best smile at his sister in her doctor’s coat. “And we’re gonna give Auntie Laurie our sad eyes if she tries to say you can’t see him cause you’re still scared and your new Nana is on the warpath in the waiting room.”

“Oh, that’s what that yelling is.” Laurie was one of the few daughters that had remained unmarried; she focused on her career. She was immune to her little brother’s big eyes and dimpled smile… but she wasn’t as immune to big green eyes staring at her from where Piper’s head laid on Jared’s shoulder with her thumb close to her mouth. “How could you teach her that look in so short a time, Jared?” She sighed.

She knew it was against protocol, since Piper was so young. Given the circumstances, she guessed she could bend the rules for a short time, considering their parents couldn’t take the baby and none of their sisters had showed up yet. Laurie also knew her patient would never relax fully until he got to see his daughter and could see for himself that she was safe after that afternoon.

“You can take her for a little bit but as soon as Carly shows up or Mom calms down, you have to let her go with one of them.” She rolled her eyes at the solemn nod she got, rubbing his arm in reassurance while giving soft hair a light kiss. “Jensen’s going to be fine, Jared.” She took them to another floor. Seeing Jared's worried look, she explained. “He did get a mild concussion and needed 12 stitches in the back of his head but, given what the medics say your living room looked like, I was surprised he only suffered that; two cracked ribs and a lot of bruises and cuts.

“His glasses must have broken cause his face got cut. We're lucky it didn’t go into his eye and damage it. He’s lucky he wasn’t hurt worse or even killed, given what Matt told me when he called to tell me to be in the ER and why.” Laurie paused by a door and eyed her brother. “Now, remember. He won’t look too good cause he was pretty banged up and one eye is nearly swollen shut. He’s still under the effects of the pain meds too, so he might be asleep again. He came around once asking for you and Piper and-” She paused to consider the best way to say this. “He also said he’d find a way to pay to fix your house and that he hopes we’re not too mad.”

“One of these days I will get him to believe that not everyone will get angry or hurt him." Jared sighed. He nodded, letting her know he was okay and reached for the door. He slipped inside and pressed a kiss to Piper’s cheek. “Daddy’s okay, honey. He’s just sleeping some but he’ll hold you soon.”

It took an inner will to keep from cursing everyone who’d hurt Jensen before and also to keep from throwing his career down the gutter by putting his fist through Tom Welling’s conceited face for putting those bruises on Jensen now.

“Jen?” Jared sat down close to the bed, still holding the baby. He shifted so he could sit her on the bed near to where one still hand laid. “Hey, Laurie says you’re gonna be fine. Sore and stiff but you’ll get better. Everything’s going to be good and we’re here with you.” He moved the hand not supporting Piper up to brush gently over a pale, bruised cheek. “I have you and Piper, Jen. I have you and I’m not planning on letting go or-” He stopped at the low sound he heard. “Jensen?”

Glassy green eyes opened as far as the swelling would allow but, slowly, Jensen made the one eye focus to bring Jared’s smiling face into view. He still felt like his body was floating but he knew that was because he’d been given a shot of pain meds, which also blurred his vision.

He’d come to once and asked Laurie about Jared and Piper. He'd drifted off after hearing her say they’d be with him soon. Jensen thought he’d apologized for what happened but he wasn’t certain. Now, as he heard Jared’s low easy drawl speaking to him, reassuring him, he wanted to reach out… He wanted to feel those strong arms around him. Suddenly, another sound caught his ear and made a soft sob break free.

“She’s here, sugar. Piper’s right here with you.” Jared moved to sit on the edge of the bed so he could move Piper up enough to let her father see her. Jared heard the sound of Jensen's relief at hearing happy baby chatter. “She’s safe and I’ll keep her safe like I’ll keep you safe.”

Jensen knew he’d probably fall back to sleep but he needed to touch her tiny hands. Jared gently placed Piper on his chest and carefully folded Jensen's arm over her while holding his other hand in his.

He’d been so scared that Piper would still be hurt or scared. He’d also been scared that something would happen and he’d never see her again, so feeling her on his chest, hearing her making soft little sounds that he knew meant she was happy and content, as well as feeling Jared’s hand assured him that it was okay.

“…Tom?” He asked, his voice low and ragged with a shot of concern hitting him. Jared shook his head.

“He’s in jail right now and we’re doing our best to keep him there but…” Jared wanted to wait for this until Jensen was awake more but he also wanted to assure his boyfriend that the danger was over. “I swear that he will never come close to you two again but you need to press charges this time, Jen. You also need to tell the DA about what happened before.” He was quick to lay a finger over moving lips before leaning up to brush a light kiss over them. “Shh, no, you won’t be in trouble but you need to do this. That way, the DA and the prosecutor can work to either put him away or…make a deal but either way, Welling will go away.”

Jensen was tired and numb. He just wanted to focus on his daughter and Jared but he knew in his heart what Jared was saying and why. He knew Tom would never leave them alone if he didn’t make a stand of some kind.

“Be… with me?” He asked. His words were slurring as his eyes drifted closed but not before noticing that Piper’s eyes had already closed. Her lashes touched her cheeks as she fell asleep as if knowing he would too.

“Every step of the way, Jen.” Jared promised. He gently squeezed the hand in his while laying his other over the one touching Piper. “Dad said to tell you that you’re not alone this time. You have family now who will stand with you.” He smiled softly. “My family is your family now, Jen. We will be with you through this. For now, just sleep.”

Jensen nodded, eyes drifting closed. He opened his good eye to stare at Jared. His friend settled but kept his hands on Jensen's to let him know he wasn’t alone. “I’ll press charges.” He mumbled. He could feel himself falling back to sleep. “I’ll do whatever… you think is best. Want… him gone… Just wanna go home… with you and… Piper.”

“We will go home, Jen.” Jared promised. He sat, watching these two people he loved fall asleep. He only relaxed once he was sure they were sleeping fully. He silently promised to make sure to do all he could to make this the one time that money didn’t buy someone’s freedom.

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**Baby Steps**

**Chapter Seven**

It actually took another month before Jared felt safe enough to say that their problems with Tom Welling could be put in the past. The process was definitely far from smooth.

It was another 27 hours before Jensen was awake and alert enough to give a detailed statement to the DA’s office and the special prosecutor who’d come to the hospital room to speak with him.

Jared’s parents took Piper and he stayed with Jensen to offer silent support. Jensen told in detail to the DA and the special prosecutor what happened the day before; Tom’s assaults and threats to not only him but Piper as well. He also described in full the assault that resulted in his daughter and the threats made to him and the baby afterwards, including some things he’d left out when telling Jared about it.

Jensen’s hands shook when he signed his name on both papers, leaning into Jared’s shoulder. “Will… Will that make him leave us alone?” he asked quietly. He was nervous that it could have the opposite effect.

“Between this, Jared’s own complaint, and the fact that he not only broke into a cop’s home but has made no attempt to deny what he did or planned to do with that child, I think it’s safe to say that Mr. Welling won’t be coming near you or Piper again, Jensen.” The DA assured him, eyeing his nephew. “If you can, try to swing by the station later? I figure you’ll want to see his face when he realizes that he’s not waltzing out the door.”

“I’ll come down as soon as Jen’s settled for the night and Tyler gets here.” Jared replied.

It took some convincing to get Jensen to agree to spend the night in the hospital. Laurie proved just as stubborn as her brother and flat out said she was keeping him overnight to be sure his vision cleared up and so there wasn’t any complications with the concussion.

“What about Piper?” Jensen had panicked upon realizing his baby wouldn’t be allowed to stay in the room with him, nearly working himself into a panic attack just from that. Jared calmed him down by telling him that Piper would be staying with his parents for the night since he was staying with Jensen… Regardless of how much his sister bitched.

Later, after the men left to draw up the formal papers, Jared watched as Jensen held Piper to give her a bottle. He could see the emotions swamping his boyfriend as he thought about how close he’d come to possibly losing her.

“No one will ever take her, Jen.” He remarked quietly, sitting on the bed. He smiled as tiny fingers grabbed his finger. “She’s yours.”

“Ours.” Jensen lifted his eyes, nerves plain to the eye. He was unsure if Jared would want them. “I meant what I told you on the phone, Jay. I… I want her to be yours… If you want us.”

“I wanted you and Piper from that first night on the porch, sugar.” Jared’s voice dropped low, finger lifting Jensen’s chin up to meet his eyes a second before he leaned closer to softly kiss him, careful of the bruises. “Thank you for the chance to love you both.”

They stayed like this until Jensen began to get drowsy. He reluctantly allowed Natalie to take Piper but only after Jared gave his Mom a list of do’s and don’ts for the baby that had her chuckling and reminding him that she had raised seven kids and watched her grandchildren regularly.

“She’ll be fine. I’ll go pick her up in the morning while Laurie’s getting your release papers in order.” Jared promised, staying a little longer until Jensen calmed back down and slowly fell to sleep. “I’ll be back as soon as I’m done at the station.” He promised in a whisper. He stepped into the hall and gave his cousin a hard look. “No one except Laurie goes in this room while I’m gone.” He growled. He didn’t trust his friend’s father, since his Dad had told him how furious the man had been when he stormed out. “I’ll be back in a couple hours but I want to be sure Welling doesn’t weasel out of this.”

When he got to the police station, he was met by an amused Chad. “Dude, you so should’ve seen it. Big shot in a suit shows up demanding that JD let Welling go because of a gross misunderstanding and how he was the victim instead of Jensen. He went on and on about how Jensen was lying, how he’d never swear out a complaint and all this other crap. The prosecutor from the next county then walked in with the DA and slammed the statements down and told him that he had all the complaints he needed and had seen Jensen so he had the proof. But that’s not the best part!”

Jared didn’t have to ask who the guy was. He figured Barrett Ackles would pull that stunt. He allowed Chad to pull him through the station and down to where the interrogation rooms were housed. “While the guy was ranting, Welling’s old man showed up and told him to shut the hell up and mind his own damn business; that while it might be fine with him what his spoiled brat of a son did to Jensen, he was tired of cleaning up the messes and wasn’t doing it again. So now, here we are…”

The one way glass allowed Jared to peer into the room where his uncle was leaning against the wall. JD and the special prosecutor on the case were sitting across from Tom Welling, who was no longer smirking and confident.

The older man sitting beside the clearly shocked man was merely shaking his head as his son ranted and railed about how unfair this was and how he had to make these hicks see his point of view.

“No.” Xavier Welling replied simply. His smooth face was sad but firm as he looked between the lawyer and his son. “When the matter was brought up to me last year, I told you that I would not continue to cover for you. Your mother spoiled you and, to keep her happy, I gave you whatever you wanted even if it meant buying your way through school or out of jail. Jensen is not the first person, male or female, that my son has attacked or forced himself on.” He told a stunned room. “He assaulted a maid when he was sixteen. Because the girl was in the country on a work visa, my wife made the problem… disappear.”

“Shut the fuck up, old man!” Tom screamed. He stood up, only to have Matt Cohen’s hand shove him back into his seat. “You’ll get me out! That freak won’t press charges and when I get outta here, I’ll-”

“Jensen signed formal charges, as did Detective Padalecki, whose house you broke into.” Carl Miller had been uneasy about this case until he saw the victim, spoke to him, and then met the accused. Now he would just be glad to make the deal and get the guy out of San Rio. “He also gave exact details about his rape at your hands. That, on top of your threats as well as the threats to kidnap and sell a child… You’re looking at a very long time behind bars, Mr. Welling.” He paused a second to look back up. “Unless your lawyer is smart and takes the single deal my office is willing to offer.”

Tom sneered at the grim-faced man sitting on his other side, a lawyer he knew his father kept on retainer and had always gotten him off before. “I won’t take any deals because I didn’t do-”

“What is it?” The lawyer asked, accepting the fact that his rich client was no longer going to pay off judges or jurors or witnesses to keep his kid out of a cell. He also knew the evidence was too huge in this case to even expect a jury to mistrial.

“No! I didn’t do anything wrong!” Tom was horrified at how this was going against him. “Ackles’ ain’t nothing but a cheap toy to be used! Hell, he’s a freak cause he can-”

“Jensen is a human being just like you or I, Mr. Welling.” Miller returned tightly. He could feel the hard eyes of the DA. He hoped the man could keep that famed Padalecki temper under control. “Just because he’s homosexual, as I believe you must be in some part, or because he was born with the genetic ability that so many other men in this country, in the world, has and can conceive, doesn’t make him property to be used or treated like an animal.”

The lawyer laid out all the statements, evidence, and photos before laying out another paper along with the deal his office had drawn up. “Because no one wants to waste taxpayer money to draw this out in a trial and because my office and the local DA’s office don’t want to put Mr. Ackles through the stress of a trial on top of this heinous attack and threat to his child, we’re willing to offer a deal.

“We won’t pursue the rape charges from before and we’ll knock this charge down to illegal entry, breaking and entry, attempted kidnapping of a minor and assault with a recommendation to the judge for a sentence of 5-7 years carried out in a minimum security mental facility outside the state of Texas with a probation period of 10 years. Mr. Welling will also be prohibited from any future contact with Mr. Ackles, Detective Padalecki, or their family. He will also sign this paper stating he gives up any and all current or future parental rights to one Piper Ackles.” Miller could feel the hate pouring off of the young man across from him. He merely looked him in the face. “Refuse the deal and I take this to court. I can promise you that no judge in this county will overlook the arrogance you showed or the pain you inflicted. They will give you the max and it’ll be in a max jail where those good ole boys tend to frown on assholes who target babies.”

Tom opened his mouth to refuse. Before he could, his father’s hand clamped down on his arm on one side while the lawyer did the same on the other.

“Take the damn deal and be thankful they don’t want you in a hardened jail.” The senior Welling stood up and eyed his son. “Take it or you won’t see another red cent of my money. Perhaps you should learn what it is to live without, like that pompous fool has made Jensen ever since he stood up for himself.”

Jared had wanted to go into the room but stayed out so his presence didn’t make it harder or ruin their chances to get the papers signed. He hated the deal but he knew it was better to get some jail time just so, in the long run, Jensen and Piper would be free from threats from Welling.

Of course, Welling signing the papers didn’t instantly take the problems away since it took a few weeks to set up a trial date just to have the judge go through the deal and issue sentence. In that time, the harassment picked up until finally the DA issued restraining orders against all of Jensen’s estranged family who seemed to have decided poor Tom was getting a raw deal.

Jensen’s side of the house had been completed, thanks to Tyler working his crew like mad in the short time Jensen spent in the hospital.

“I put your door back up, fixed the window but since I figure you’ll be crashing with Jensen until this is all over, the rest of the stuff can wait until I get done installing a walk-in closet in Brit’s place that’s bigger than Jensen’s kitchen.” Tyler told Jared the afternoon after Jensen came home and was walking around the newly fixed up home with Piper in his arms. “Oh… And I added something in Piper’s room that might-”

“Jared! Where did this dresser and changing table come from?” Jensen called from upstairs. “Never mind the giant pink teddy bear!”

By the time it took Jared to assure his still nervous and jumpy boyfriend that everything was fine, his grandmother decided to pay a visit to see the finished home and to check on Jensen and the baby.

Evie had been visiting a friend in another state. When she learned about what was happening, she had been furious. She quickly reassured Jensen that of course nothing was his fault. She wouldn’t hear about him paying to repair Jared’s home. His rent was not going up because of all the new things that had been added or replaced.

“You know I do have other homes to rent out.” She mentioned to her grandson as she was leaving. “Nice one family homes on the outside of town with yards fit for toddling children and maybe a puppy.”

Jared smiled, glancing back to see Jensen’s eyes move protectively before placing a crawling Piper on the grass. “I know you do, Gram… but I think when we move, it’ll be to a place we pick and buy together.”

Still not wanting to push or rush, Jared held off mentioning to Jensenmaybe moving into a new place together. He understood that, in some ways, Jensen was still finding himself and learning to make a way for himself and Piper without needing to depend on others.

Jensen had actually gotten a job as an office assistant to the lawyer who was partnered with Britany. He didn’t mind the monotony of filing or typing letters or taking notes. It gave him a chance to work on a few more drawings for Carly and gave him the money to let him feel like Jared wasn’t paying for everything.

When fall came, Jensen decided to try and squeeze in a few courses to finish up his college degree. He thought that maybe, after finishing those classes, he could get a degree in art or something he actually liked. A few of his scholarships that had been pulled got reinstated by his earlier grades and a gentle nudge from more than a few members of the Padalecki family, so now he didn’t have to worry about tuition costs.

One afternoon, Jensen was at the law office of Danneel Harris and Jared was up to his ears in reports. It wasn’t until that fateful afternoon that Katie called 911 and it became plain that the need to move was now huge.

Matt, who was growling, and his partner, dragged an angry Alex Ackles, Jensen’s older brother, into the station.

He had come to the house earlier with the firm intent to either beat up his brother until he dropped the charges on Tom or to just take the baby. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Jared who got the chance to get a shot in first. Jensen beat him to it, much to the shock and surprise of half the San Rio Police Department and the amusement of the other half.

“You do not ever come near me or my family! You do not ever try to put your goddamn fucking hands on my daughter ever again!” Jensen had torn into the station after being informed of the incident. Before Chad or Matt could make a grab, he was across the squad room to slam his fist into his cuffed brother’s face. “You got everything you and the others wanted! You wanted me gone or ruined, well, you got one but you’ll never have the other because nothing you do or Mom or Dad do or anyone tries to do will ruin me!

“You set me up with Tom! You knew how he was and it was just a game to you! You helped him drug me that night! You tried multiple times to hurt me! You tried to get me to miscarriage when I refused the order to abort her!” Jensen was running on pure emotion and had been since he’d torn out of the office. The moment he saw his brother’s face, all the rage he’d buried all his life just spilled out.

“All of you thought I’d run away and fail! You thought I’d fall or wouldn’t be able to survive on my own! You thought I’d lose her! But I didn’t! Goddamn you, I didn’t and I won’t!” He was unaware of the words spilling out or the tears on his face or the blood on his knuckles as he kept hitting his brother, now shouting. “I will not lose Piper to anyone’s lies! I will not lose her or any other child I have and yes, you son of a bitch, I want another baby!”

The shock at actually being hit by his little brother, always quiet and nerdy, was one thing but that comment shot his temper back to the surface. Alex was trying to twist away from the hard fists currently raining down and screaming at the useless cops to arrest his insane brother when he heard it.

“Stupid asshole!” He wished he had his hands free so he could put his little brother in his place. “No one’s gonna touch you if they know what you are! No one’s gonna wanna raise that other thing or fuck you if they might end up with-ugh!”

“I am so sick and tired of people calling Piper a thing!” Jensen’s head was throbbing; he was shaking but unaware of whether it was from anger or fear. “My daughter is a baby! A sweet, innocent, little girl that never asked to be in this world but she is and I love her! Jared loves her!”

A hand suddenly reached over to catch Jensen’s and gently tugged him back against Jared’s chest. “Jared loves both of you.” He corrected firmly. The warning was plain in his eyes as he shot the bleeding man a glare, daring him to move. He slid an arm around Jensen and felt him shaking badly. “I’ll also give you that baby when you’re ready.” He added in a whisper that only Jensen could hear.

“You’re crazy!” Alex shouted, spitting blood and glaring around him. “He assaulted me! Arrest him! You all saw him beat on me!”

Chief Morgan had come out of his office in the middle of the altercation. Now, he eyed the bloody-faced man and looked to his officers with a frown. “He booked in yet?” He asked gruffly. He noticed the way Jared’s body tensed and how the shaking man in his arms stilled.

“Nope.” Chad spoke up from where he was, sitting on the edge of his desk watching the scene. “In fact, as far as I know, Matt hasn’t even got him to the building yet.” He smirked at Alex while tossing a look over his shoulder at the other cop. “You here yet, Matt?”

Blinking in confusion until it hit him, Matt smiled slowly. “No. Got stuck in traffic and then the clumsy yo-yo tripped getting out of the car and slammed his pretty boy face into the concrete. I’ll let you know when we get here, Chief.”

“You can’t do that!” Alex twisted to find the Chief of Police. “You saw him assault me! I didn’t do anything to him or anything to be arrested, so-”

JD looked around the squad room at the assembled men and women and when he saw that none of them were going to object to the obvious lie, he looked at the prisoner. “First off, you broke the restraining order that prohibits contact with Jensen or his family. You trespassed on private property and nearly hit a young girl who was protecting the baby, so those are definite things you did wrong.” He stepped closer to glare at the man. “Also, until your name and time is booked into my station, you ain’t here and none of my officers are going to say they witnessed a goddamn thing. Now, go lose him in some hole for a half an hour until Miller gets here to see about breaking the TRO.

“Jared, take Jensen on home and Murray can finish the reports.” He ordered, meeting and holding hazel eyes while nodding to the door. “I’ll handle this.”

And to Jared’s surprise, he did. While Alex bitched and moaned about being assaulted by his brother, no cop would admit to seeing it. In fact, they told of how he’d fallen while being an unruly prisoner. The fact that he’d broken the restraining order was a bigger issue for the judge than his ranting.

After that, a car was parked close to the house but after Welling was sentenced, there was only one other ugly scene at the courthouse. Jensen’s parents had tried to intimidate and insult him only to find that Callum’s promise that the Padalecki family had Jensen’s back was very true.

As anyone local to San Rio knew, there was nothing scarier than a combined Padalecki family. It wasn’t just Callum and Natalie’s seven children combined with son-in-laws that came to support Jensen when he spoke in front of the judge that day, but Evie’s children and their own came as well.

When Marilyn Ackles tried to get close to sneer at her son’s choice of lifestyle and choices, she found a steely-eyed Natalie in her face with a warning that she would never get close enough to hurt her boys or her new granddaughter again.

The judge, after learning the full details, actually sentenced Tom to a heavier sentence. He stated that he hoped he ‘learned a lesson and would rethink his choices when released in 12 years’.

Jensen nearly collapsed once they were outside the court and he realized it was over. When his parents stormed off, he felt Jared’s arms come around him to just hold him.

“You don’t need them, Jen.” Jared murmured. He kissed his cheek lightly. “My family adores you and Piper. Like you and everyone have seen today, you aren’t alone and won’t ever be.”

It was still hard to accept that. When Natalie hugged him instead of letting his fears make him tense, Jensen hugged the motherly woman back and realized how much he was falling in love with his boyfriend’s family.

They declined her offer to take Piper for the night so they could have time alone to unwind from the stress of the last month. Jared knew, on that night, what Jensen needed was to be able to hold Piper and know that no one would ever try to take her away from him again.

Katie had stayed at the house with the baby and was waiting on the porch when they got back. She smiled as Jensen thanked her softly before taking his happy daughter who was covered in bananas into his arms to hug her and laugh at her giggles.

Later that night, Jared sat in the blue overstuffed armchair with Jensen leaning back against his chest as Piper was laying on his chest after having been fed, bathed, and dressed in soft pink footie PJs. “You okay?” He asked. He put one hand over on Jensen’s chest and felt tiny fingers close over his pinkie finger.

“I… When I moved here, I thought I’d just move and find a place to keep a roof over our heads and try to survive. I never expected to ever meet someone like you; a wonderful, loving man who, even after almost four months, hasn’t asked me for more than I could give.” Jensen relaxed fully back and let strong arms hold both him and Piper. “My daughter’s happy. She’s laughing and sleeping through the night. I… I believed what everyone said, so I never thought anyone would accept us but your family does. I love you and them so much, Jay.” He glanced back to meet the warm smile. “I… I want us to be a family.”

“We are.” Jared murmured. He kissed him slowly. Fearing Jensen was too raw from the days leading up to the sentencing and the nights of bitter nightmares to do more than kiss, he was careful not to deepen it too much. “We always will be and when you feel it’s time… we’ll do more. Tonight, just let me hold you both and be glad you and our daughter are safe in my arms.”

Jensen’s eyes burned when Jared said that. He’d given up hope of ever finding anyone to love him or his baby. Now, he relaxed into the sensation of warm lips brushing over his cheek. Jared tightened his arms and held them as both he and Piper fell asleep.

A week later, Jared was coming home from work. He and Chad had both had a long day of being out on the streets and he’d done his fair share of catching criminals. All he looked forward to was a quiet night with Jensen and Piper.

They’d decided to look at homes for buying ever since Jared just started staying over with Jensen. After a while, it quickly became plain that they needed a larger home or else Jensen’s need for order and all of Jared’s stuff would end up with one of them driving the other nuts. Plus, they both wanted a fenced in yard so Piper could play without Jensen worrying about the street being so close.

They were going to go the following day to look at several possibilities that both men and a snoopy Chad had agreed would work for their needs.

“Jensen?” Stepping into the house, Jared dropped his keys in a bowl and made sure to hang up his jacket and suddenly, his senses went into hyper-drive. The lights downstairs were turned low, and it was odd for that to happen this early. What was also odd and a little alarming was that there was no Piper scooting across the floor in her new walker/bouncer toy that Chad decided she just had to have.

She’d started to crawl and had been saying a few words. Jensen and Jared were near tears when she clapped her hands one evening during her bath and said ‘Da!’ while Jensen was washing her hair.

Jared was used to hearing her happy chatter as her little chubby legs would make the walker move to greet him. To not see it now had his heart speeding up. “Jen?” He called again, fingers starting to go for the gun he still had holstered. He usually put it in the safe by the bed. “Jensen!”

“Bedroom!” Jensen’s voice hollered back down and, since it didn’t sound worried or upset, Jared tried to relax as he took the steps quickly.

“Hey, what’s up? Piper sick?” He asked as he moved. “Usually she meets me. If she got sick, you should’ve called and I would’ve grabbed some baby Tylenol or something at the store or-holy shit.” Jared’s brain, focused on a possible sick baby, immediately turned to mush the second he stepped into Jensen’s, or their, bedroom and saw what was waiting for him. “Ummm, Jen? Before I lose all higher brain function and forget to be responsible… Where exactly is Piper?”

“She’s having her first official sleepover at Nana and Pap’s house tonight. I’m still not totally relaxed with it but she has my blessing.” Jensen hoped he sounded calmer than he felt as he watched a series of emotions cross Jared’s face when he stepped into the bedroom. “I… I thought maybe i-if you weren’t too tired… you and I could play a little tonight.”

The plan had been brewing in Jensen’s brain for the past week. He knew he didn’t have any skill at being sexy or romantic. Hell, he’d only had one experience, not counting his own hand and that hadn’t been the greatest. He was hoping that with Jared, it would be different.

Jensen had hoped his boyfriend’s mother hadn’t thought anything when he asked if she’d like to keep Piper overnight. It had been hard to let go earlier but when Piper saw the only grandmother she was likely to have, she looked so happy that it eased some of his inner guilt.

He’d spent the rest of the evening coaxing up his own courage while preparing the best that he could. He’d showered, shaved, lit the few candles he had that didn’t smell like bug repellant, and tried to remember what the hell he’d seen on the few porn films he’d watched as a teenager while waiting for Jared to get home.

Now, he watched his drop dead gorgeous boyfriend’s face slowly work past the shock of walking in to find him naked. He tried to appear calm and relaxed when, in reality, his stomach was jumping with his heart and he started to think that this was a huge mistake.

Jensen had never been at ease with his body. He’d always been told he was too skinny or ugly. Those beliefs were stronger since giving birth. He did have the blanket pulled up over his stomach enough. Jensen had almost not gone through with this plan. He realized that Jared hadn’t seen the scar on his stomach from the C-section or the stretch marks that were still slightly visible, even though they’d fooled around some these past few months. It was mostly simple handjobs in the dark, though.

“Jay?” When Jared didn’t speak right away, Jensen’s fingers tightened on the blanket. He began to lean over the bed to grab for his clothes while trying not to show any emotions. He suddenly blinked as he was reminded that, despite being so tall, Jared could move fast when he wanted to.

Jared’s fingers closed gently over his wrist, the fingers of his other hand smoothing over Jensen’s face as he sat on the edge of the bed next to him. “Are you sure?” He asked, swearing his brain had not melted and he could do this. “We don’t have to, Jen. We can wait as long as you need to.”

“I know.” Jensen whispered. He was trying not to shake but his nerves were growing. “I… I want to. If you do, I mean. I know that I won’t be good at this and-”

“Jen? Remember what I told you about letting me be the judge of what you are or aren’t good at?” Jared leaned closer and his lips began to trail down his neck. He knew it had been too long so he hoped he could last long enough to make this good. “That applies to this as well. Trust me?”

“Yes.” Jensen did; it was the little spurts of memories that were throwing him off… Until he began to watch Jared undress. “I… I told you that I’ve only done this one time and-”

“No.” Jared carefully put the weapon and holster away. He wouldn’t need either for the weekend. He pulled his t-shirt off over his head, hearing a low breath escape Jensen as it did whenever he took his shirt off. “You’ve never actually made love, sugar. Tonight, if you’ll trust me enough, we’ll make love.”

This time, as Jared’s long fingers undid the button and zipper on his jeans, it was Jensen’s turn to keep his brain functioning. As he watched denim slide down long muscular legs, he felt something disconnect for a second.

“I’ll be honest and tell you that it’s been… awhile since I’ve done this, so this first time might not take as long as I’d like it to but before we leave this bed tomorrow, I will make damn sure you enjoy it, Jen.” Jared saw the faint blush that tinged Jensen’s cheeks as he looked at him and then away. Jared noticed the way Jensen’s fingers held onto the blanket. “I’ve felt the scar, sugar.” He told him softly, carefully placing his hand over Jensen’s. “Let me see you?”

“When Dr. Milly had to… do a C-section before, Piper was positioned wrong or something. She told me to use this cream to reduce the stretch marks but… She told me that because I’m so fair-skinned I’d probably always have the scar.” Jensen knew he was babbling. He let Jared move the blanket aside to leave him naked fully.

He swallowed thickly at the first feel of a finger lightly running over the faint marks. He had to bite down to keep from moaning when Jared leaned closer and pressed soft kisses over the scar. “You’re beautiful, Jen.” He whispered huskily, drawl deepening in a way that never failed to make Jensen’s body react. “You’re a beautiful man on the inside and outside and I am so damn lucky to have found you.”

Shivering from both the warm kisses ghosting over his stomach and the weight of the emotion he felt from Jared’s words, Jensen’s fingers carded through long dark hair. “Make love to me, Jared.”

“Yes.” Jared could tell that Jensen wanted this as much as he did by the way his deep green eyes were darkening and the way his cock was hardening and glistening with pre-come at the tip. The vital thing for Jared was to make sure he could survive stretching the younger man without coming too soon just from the touch. “Can you roll over onto your stomach for me so I can-ohh my God.” He groaned as he watched Jensen’s long lean body move onto his stomach. He nearly came upon seeing that his beautiful, naïve, virtually innocent boyfriend had done a pretty fair job of opening himself. Jared could tell that Jensen must have used Piper’s baby lotion to act as a lubricant. “I love you so much, Jensen.”

Being on his stomach brought back a rush of bad memories. He started tensing up, feeling cruel hands and burning pain. Jensen gasped at the gentle lips that smoothed along his tight shoulders while large but gentle hands caressed his back, he and was brought back from his memories.

“Anything you don’t like, or if you want to stop, just tell me.” Jared was quick to reassure, feeling the tension that was making Jensen’s muscles tighten. He slid a couple pillows under him to support him. His body was rock hard and aching just from the sight of lean, toned muscles that Jared knew Jensen probably didn’t even think he had. “I’ll go as slow as I can, Jen.”

“Just wanna make you...” Jensen was biting his lip, fingers clenching on the pillow as he felt weight settle behind him. He mentally scolded himself for being nervous. “Jay?” He felt a cool touch over the crease in his ass but, instead of sharp, burning agony there was an odd tightness. “I… Didn’t I do something right, or-?”

Jared would’ve preferred a warming lube for this but, since he hadn’t been expecting this tonight, he didn’t have anything on him. He would never had dreamed of leaving to run next door and grabbing the tube in his nightstand, so he used the powdery scented baby lotion to slick his fingers and cock with. He gave a gentle, testing push with a single finger and barely resisted the urge to groan at the hot tightness that clenched around it.

“You did just fine, Jen. I just want to be sure it’s enough so this doesn’t hurt you.” Jared reassured him when he heard the soft worry. He rubbed a soothing hand up Jensen’s back while slowly letting the younger man adjust to his touch and the feel of his cock pressing against him. “Just focus on me and not the memories, sugar. I won’t promise no pain this time because you are still so tight but I will promise to make it good.”

“I thought it always hurt.” Jensen blushed, knowing he was showing just how little he knew. He moaned softly when hot lips locked on his neck and began a slow process of sucking and licking over the skin there.

“Until you adjust to me, there might be some pain the first few times but it won’t be for long and then you’ll understand what making love should feel like.” Jared said between kisses. He was liking the little sounds he was drawing out of his boyfriend just from kissing his neck. He felt that Jensen was still tight even with three fingers but the inner muscles weren’t as tight now, so he decided to attempt it. “This might feel tight but just focus on me, on what I’m doing, and not what you think will happen.”

Jensen knew what was happening… or so he thought. As he felt the fingers move to be replaced by the head of Jared’s cock, the instant pain wasn’t there. There was a slight burning pressure but, as he worked to relax his body from what it thought was another brutal intrusion, he felt light kisses working over his shoulders before sliding down his back.

Jared knocked the urge to push all the way in aside. Instead, he started to give gentle rolls of his hips to allow Jensen’s tight channel to take him a little at a time. In between moves, he worked to distract Jensen with kisses over skin that was now coated by a thin sheen of sweat.

He slipped the hand not on Jensen’s hip up to caress over his chest. He smiled against his neck at the low sound he heard when he gently rolled a hard little nub between his fingers. “Love you, Jen.” he whispered, lips and teeth playing over soft skin until Jensen was shaking more from desire than fear.

“Jay… ohh… God…” Jensen’s body was feeling things he’d never felt before; things he never knew it could feel. He realized his hips were moving back to match each thrust until he suddenly felt something give. His closed eyes snapped back open when it felt like his nerves were lit up. “Jared!”

“Like that, sugar?” Jared’s voice was tight, low from holding back from what his body wanted. He wasn’t sure who was shaking more by this point but finally, after what seemed like forever to him, he gave another roll. With a low groan of pleasure, he felt himself fully sheathed in tight, hot heat.

When Jensen jerked and shouted his name in stunned confusion, Jared knew he’d hit that spot. He suspected that Jensen probably had never touched or even knew it existed. He eased back to give another roll that would take him right back up against Jensen’s prostate. He felt whatever tension he’d had go away at the sounds of pleasure he heard.

“What… Never felt that before.” Jensen slowly adjusted himself in order to keep that feeling every time Jared moved inside him. He expected pain and fear like before; he expected rough movements and low grunts. The only pain had been slight and then it was replaced by the wonderful feel of whatever Jared’s cock was hitting up inside him that had him moaning low in his throat and really wanting to touch himself.

Ever since he was a teenager, Jensen figured the most action he’d ever see would be by his own hand but he still felt shy even doing that. Tonight, as he felt Jared’s hips giving gentle thrusts against his ass that same feeling skating over his nerves just left because he seriously wanted to come.

“That’s what it feels like to have my cock hit your prostate.” Jared told him in between rolls and moans of want, licking a slow stripe up the side of Jensen’s neck before gently closing his lips over his earlobe to tease it with his teeth. “Like it?”

“Yes! God, yes!” Jensen heard his voice break with emotion. He turned his head to the side and met Jared’s lips in a kiss that turned hot and hard as both men became lost in passion and each other. “Need… more, Jay. Want to feel you.”

Jared nodded. He knew slow was not in the cards for them right then. He licked over parted lips until they opened, allowing him to enter and explore. He groaned when shaking fingers reached back to find his hair and pulled it, making him groan.

Jared leaned his chest up against Jensen’s back, giving slightly harder thrusts. The room was silent except for the sounds of flesh meeting flesh and low moans and broken words. Jared shifted his hand down and carefully wrapped his fingers around Jensen’s red, hard and dripping cock. He began to stroke it smoothly from base to tip.

“You feel so good, Jen.” He murmured in his ear, loving the whimpers of need he was drawing out of Jensen as he watched his boyfriend. “Gonna make you feel good too.”

Jensen figured if his tongue would work, he’d say he already felt good but then he felt other fingers sliding between his legs to gently roll his balls that he could feel tightening between them. “Jay!” He gasped. Jared pulled him back to rest against his chest. The new position had the cock inside him hitting his sweet spot with every move made and he had no chance to do more than scream his lover’s name before he felt himself coming.

Jared saw the signs, so he knew how close both of them were. He brought Jensen back to him, ignoring the burning in his thighs. He continued to work his hips in order to hit that spot while moving his hand over his cock. When he heard his name shouted, he felt Jensen tense, jerk, and felt hot come hit his hand.

“Fuck.” He breathed. He was trying to focus on giving Jensen as much pleasure as he could from this orgasm. He suddenly felt his own body shudder the moment tight muscles clamped down on his cock. He felt his own climax hit hard and fast. “Jen…”

Jensen was riding the emotional waves of an orgasm like he’d never felt before. His hips were moving back to still get that feeling but also forward into Jared’s still stroking hand. He heard Jared gasp, then moan, and felt warmth filling him and knew Jared had come as well.

He felt warm come filling him and he was happy in knowing that it was Jared’s. He smiled, hoping silently that one time they did this, it might result in another life. The smile never left his face as Jensen’s body worked through the orgasm until he felt the buzzing in his brain from the strength of the climax combined with the rush of pure pleasure he’d been given.

“Thank you.” He murmured, turning his face and meeting warm lips a second before exhaustion and pleasure took him under.

“No, thank you for trusting me to show you this.” Jared tightened his arm around Jensen’s chest. He saw a flash of white a second before Jensen went limp against him and he knew the unexpected strength of the moment had knocked him out for a short time. “I love you, Jensen.” He murmured. He started gently kissing his face while riding out his own climax.

Using his weight to support them, Jared gently eased Jensen down on his side and carefully eased out of him. “Shh, I’m here, Jen.” He whispered, hearing a low sound of distress when he moved. “Just let me grab a rag to clean up a bit and then I’ll hold you.”

Jensen’s brain came back on slowly. He felt warm arms wrap around him while lips caressed his face. He heard Jared’s low drawl murmuring softly to him. “You stayed.” He yawned, body sated and relaxed as he moved to cuddle more against Jared.

“We share a bed, so… Yeah, I stayed.” Jared chuckled. His smile softened when he understood the point of the odd comment. “Jen, I’ll always stay with you after we make love… or even if we’re just cuddling. Unless I get called out… Then you can gripe at the Chief for making me leave.”

“Did… Did you mean what you said about wanting… a baby with me?” Jensen traced the muscles on Jared’s chest nervously. He felt a finger tilt his chin up and he looked at Jared’s face saw dimples showing.

“If I didn’t, I would’ve used protection.” Jared ached for the day he didn’t see so many shadows of fear or doubt in those beautiful green eyes. “Jensen, I love Piper with all my heart. She will always be my daughter but I won’t lie. I want a chance to make a new life with you.” He slid his hand down and spread it over Jensen’s flat stomach. “I want to share the experience with you as we feel our son or daughter grow inside you. …And while I might pass out in the delivery room, I’ll also be there with you when he or she is born.”

Jensen’s eyes went wet as his heart swelled from that declaration. He leaned up to kiss Jared, feeling it returned tenderly. “I love you so much, Jared.” He told him, laying his head over Jared’s heart to hear it beating. He fell asleep to Jared’s voice returning the sentiment.

**Six Months Later**

It took a little work and a lot of influence. For once, Jared didn’t bitch about using his family name or their money to help make it easier for him to adopt Piper. He’d be signing the papers later that week and then he had a week of vacation to allow him to move them into the new home they bought on the outside of San Rio.

He was just finishing a report of a petty thief who thought it bright to steal an old lady’s purse downtown in front of a parked cop car when he heard his name called.

Hearing Jensen’s voice had Jared’s focus shifting off the report. He shot to his feet and saw that Chad was turning as well. It was odd for Jensen to come to the station. As Jared took in the flushed face and bright eyes as well as the fact that he had Piper with him, he was across the room and reaching out.

“What’s wrong?” He asked quickly, worry plain. They hadn’t had anymore issues with anyone but Jared was too much cop to expect their lives to run smoothly. “I thought I told you to stay home today and rest.”

Jensen had been sick the past few weeks and Jared was concerned and also badgering Laurie to find out why the stomach bug wasn’t going away.

“You did but Laurie called, so I had to go into her office.” Jensen shifted a rapidly growing Piper more on his hip. She squealed at the sight of her favorite surrogate uncle and Chad reached to take her. “We came straight here cause I didn’t want to wait.”

“Laurie called you?” Jared made a note to growl at his sister for not calling him. “Why? Why didn’t you call me? I would’ve gone with you. What’s wrong? Are you-”

A hand covered his mouth and shut him up as Jensen chewed his lip a little nervously. He noticed that Matt slid a chair behind Jared with a teasing, knowing grin. “What happened to doctor/client privacy or something?” Jensen demanded with a huff, guessing the man already knew the news.

“Son, your doctor has five sisters. You’re basically married to her brother, so that rule went out the window.” Matt laughed. “I figure you weren’t out of her building when Laurie was on the phone to Carly who then called me and it’s just snowballed from there. Probably the only one who doesn’t know yet is the growling guy in front of you.”

“What don’t I know?” Jared demanded, shooting his brother-in-law an evil look before slipping his hands up to cup Jensen’s face. “Jen? What is it? Are you sick? Is it worse than the bug you caught off of Piper or-”

Jensen had worked on a way to tell Jared why he’d been so sick the past few mornings. He doubted his choice to do it in the police station but he knew Jared would implode if he didn’t tell him now. “I’m not sick, Jay.” He began slowly, seeing the confusion come over Jared’s face. He used that time to move one of Jared’s hands from his face to hold it over his stomach, no longer fully flat. Jensen watched as it slowly began to dawn on Jared. “I’m pregnant.”

**TBC**


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this is it. The final chapter for this one. Thanks to all who read it, left kudos or reviewed. As my first foray into the world of MPreg your reviews helped to calm the nerves, lol.

**Baby Steps**

**Chapter Eight**

“Where’s Jared? I’m not doing this until Jay’s here cause he will pout like hell if he misses this and-oh my fucking God, I will never let him touch me again!”

“Well, the boy ain’t got the mouth on him that you did any of the seven times you went through this.” Callum remarked, wincing at the slap to his chest from his wife. “Well, it’s true. By this point, you’d called me every name in the book, a few that weren’t, and you had threatened to cut off quite a few body parts.”

“I’m about to threaten that again if you don’t shush your mouth and go find your son!” Natalie snapped. She was gently wiping sweat out of Jensen’s large eyes as he tried to work through the labor pains that he’d been in for the past eight hours. “We’ve called and left messages at the station and on his phone, sweetie. There was a huge police thing in the next county and that moron Chief thought it was a good idea to send Jared and Chad but he’ll be here before you deliver.”

Jensen slumped back against the pillows and tried to regain his breath. He was mentally cussing himself for letting Jared even go to work that day. He hadn’t felt well and he’d felt the same way the day he’d gone into labor with Piper.

He was two days overdue and Jared had been nearly manic with worry. Jensen had threatened that, if he didn’t go to work for a few hours, he’d hit him in the head with the new plastic toy sledgehammer Tyler had brought Piper. Now, he wished he’d kept his damn mouth shut and let Jared hover. When he realized his water broke in the middle of feeding Piper lunch, he’d nearly panicked.

Of course, the great thing about having been adopted by Jared’s large and welcoming family was that one or two of them had been dropping in a few times a day ever since he’d gotten close to his due date. Tyler had just walked in while Jensen was still trying to get over the shock that he was in labor. He didn’t know which of them was paler.

Tyler was great with Piper. He doted and spoiled the nearly 19-month old toddler as much as Jared did. The whole giving birth concept was not so easily handled…though, as Jensen knew, it wasn’t just because he was a man about to push a small human being out of his body. He’d seen the man have a similar reaction when his own sister was in labor too.

“Baby!” The construction worker had screamed into the phone while trying to support Jensen and not scare a curious Piper. “Now! He’s… Jare ain’t here and… The baby!”

Jensen had no idea who he’d called but less than 20 minutes later, Carly was running into the house. She was dragging her husband along and lecturing him for not being the one to go on that call instead of her dimwitted little brother.

The last nine months were a whirlwind of change. Other than being pregnant and going through all the changes to his body and hormones that brought, the paperwork came through that allowed Jared to legally adopt Piper. He give her his name in addition to the Ackles name that Jensen decided to keep mainly because he refused to let his family, who was still hateful, take even that away from him.

They also moved into a new, two-story home on the outside of town with more rooms than they needed. Like Jared had said, it was a one-time move. This was the house that they’d raise their family in and Jensen had melted at that. It also had a front and back yard that was fenced in, so Piper and the new puppy could play without fear of traffic.

Of course, this pregnancy had left Jensen more tired than Piper’s had, so he mostly had to sit and direct anything done such as painting or moving furniture. Piper had her own room on one side of the master bedroom while the nursery would be on the other side.

Only Jared, his parents, Laurie, and Dr. Milly, who’d been thrilled at the chance to come to San Rio to take care of this pregnancy, knew the secret that Jensen did. He and Jared wanted to surprise his siblings and their friends but now that he was facing possibly giving birth alone, he figured that secret would soon be out.

“Where’s… Piper?” He asked between clenched teeth, also wishing he hadn’t refused the damn pain shot when Laurie had offered it. “Is she… okay? I will never let him touch me again or he’s getting fixed!”

“Piper’s with Katie and Tyler.” Natalie assured him, rubbing his back while looking to see her husband stalking the hall with a phone in his hand. “I used to say that about Cal after every birth… Though, after Jared, I knew he was our last cause my babies kept getting bigger and bigger. But then, you have another reason for having a harder time with this one.”

“Yeah, leave it to my brother to put twins into the mix.” Laurie spoke up from where she was taking vital signs. She frowned when another contraction came sooner than she expected. “Okay, these two wanna be born, so Jared had better get his ass here soon or he’s missing the show.”

Jensen’s fingers clenched on the bed. “Nope, not doing this until he’s here.” He refused, willing his impatient children to hold on a little longer. “He promised to be here with me through the birth and we’re waiting.”

“Now there’s the boy who told off an entire birthing room when I told him I’d have to knock him out for the C-section for Piper’s birth.” Dr. Milly chuckled as she entered the room, dressed and scrubbed. “You know if you have trouble this time, we’ll have to take you into one of the ORs to do this.”

“Not… gonna have trouble.” Jensen didn’t want to risk his babies but he was determined to do this like he and Jared had planned… Even if he might scream and call his partner a few interesting names. “Just… just want… fuck!” He swore Piper hadn’t hurt this much and this time, he couldn’t keep in the shout of pain. “Should this hurt like this?”

Natalie and Dr. Milly exchanged knowing looks. “Honey, this is just labor. The real pain comes when you’re actually delivering.” The kindly doctor informed him, smiling to relieve the panic she saw building. “You’ll be fine, Jensen. You’re young and healthy. You’ll do fine but we might not be able to wait much longer cause you are ready.”

“No, no, you just stop it.” Jensen wasn’t sure what scared him more; the pain or doing this without Jared. He was about to panic when some sound in the hall made him look up. Natalie cocked her head with a warm smile.

“And unless I miss my guess and don’t know the sound of my son tearing through the halls, I believe Jared’s here.” She reached for the door just as it slammed open to reveal a wide-eyed, pale-faced, gasping Jared. “I should box your ears for even going to work today, much less going out of town. I’ll do that after you help him bring my grandchildren into this world.” She patted his shaking arm. “Don’t pass out or else your sisters will never let you live it down.”

Jared managed to nod but his eyes were locked on Jensen. From the second he heard the first message on his phone to when JD got ahold of him to yell that he was getting bitched at from every Padalecki female and the goddamn DA that Jared had better get his ass back to San Rio and fast, he hadn’t been able to think of anything else but Jensen, Piper, and the delivery that he might very well miss.

The speed record he’d set getting to his house that one day was nothing compared to the one he set getting back to town and to the hospital. He was half sure Chad hadn’t died of a stroke from his driving but he wasn’t certain. Anyway, he couldn’t be bothered to check since all he wanted was to be where he was supposed to be.

“Next time, I’m taking the whole month off.” He declared firmly. He reached out his hand to Jensen, who grabbed it and held tightly.

“Next time?” Jensen’s laugh was watery but full of relief as he let Jared wrap his arms around him and. He used the solid muscle he felt to center himself before the next contraction hit. “Jay, you’ll be lucky if I let you touch me after this. If I do, you better swear to me that we’re just doing kids one at a time.”

“Whatever you want, sugar.” Right then, Jared would promise his partner anything just to get that wild panic out of his eyes. He looked up at his sister and Dr. Milly. “What now?”

Laurie grabbed his arm and pulled him toward a sink. “Now, you scrub and lose the jacket and gun. Get ready to be cussed at, beat on, threatened, and if he can reach that gun, probably shot, little brother.” She hugged him while smiling. “And get ready to meet your babies.”

It took several more hours, mostly with Jared wincing and agreeing blindly as Jensen screamed and threatened him. Laurie finally stepped into the crowded waiting room to announce happily that Jensen had come through with flying colors, Jared only had some minor bruises and scratches, and Wyatt and Phoebe Ackles-Padalecki were both healthy and perfect.

“Twins?” Chad Michael Murray had barely survived the trip back but this one about did him in. He adored his best friend’s partner. He spoiled Piper like crazy and planned to do the same again. It was just when he thought too hard that he got woozy. “How’d he… No, no, don’t even wanna go there.”

“No you don’t!” Matt Cohen told his fellow police officer while handing tissues to his crying wife and sisters-in-law. “The last time you asked something stupid, Jared threatened to feed you to a bull after he let it stomp you.”

Jensen was exhausted but happy as he held his son. After all the testing and whatever medically needed to be done had been completed, the nurses had given the twins back to them. Jared had also been growling that no one had better hurt his babies because he had a gun within reach and half of the San Rio Police Department was in the waiting room.

“They’re beautiful, Jen,” Jared said now. He shifted carefully from where he was sitting with his back against the top of the bed. He had one arm around Jensen and their son while he held their daughter in his other arm. He figured he’d counted fingers and toes enough, so now he was trying to count the freckles on his daughter’s face while wisely not mentioning that she got those from Jensen. “You’re beautiful and I love you so much.”

“I guess I’ll let you touch me again… After a month or so.” He blinked his heavy eyes to clear them of exhaustion and tears to look up at Jared. “They’re really here, Jay. We have two beautiful babies.”

“No, we have three beautiful babies since, when Piper turns 16, we’ll still consider her a baby.” Jared pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Jensen’s head, feeling him lean closer as Dr. Milly stepped into the room. “It’s okay, sugar. Both of them will be back in the room when you wake up and I’ll talk someone into sneaking Piper in so she can meet her brother and sister.” He knew Jensen didn’t want to let go but he also knew his partner needed sleep after so many hours of delivering two tiny, healthy babies.

“Make… sure they’ll be safe?” Jensen was drifting but he was still worried. He felt Jared’s lips brush over his.

Jared nodded to where Chad had stuck his head in the room. He indicated that he should go watch the babies while he brought Jensen closer in his arms. “Momma will make sure they’re safe and brought back once Laurie finishes whatever needs done. Then, when you wake up, you can feed them but now just sleep. You deserve it.” He heard a soft murmur and smiled.

As Jensen slept, Jared looked at this wonderful young man that had come to mean so much to him so quickly. When he’d stepped out of his house that night, he’d known instantly that he’d fallen in love with the man and his daughter. Jared hadn’t expected that night to lead him to where he was now, though. Madly in love with a talented artist who was getting more confident in his skill, even though he’d blushed like crazy when Carly included his drawings in her latest children’s book.

He was the father of a beautiful 19-month old little girl and two brand new babies. As long as he lived, Jared knew nothing would ever replace the raw emotion he’d seen on Jensen’s face when their son came into this world closely followed by his impatient sister.

Jared carded his fingers back through damp, short, dark blonde hair before placing a light kiss to Jensen’s forehead. Finally feeling him relax fully, he let his own eyes close. His family would wait to visit until Jensen was awake and up to company… or so his mother had decreed.

This time was for them alone. Two little beds were sitting across the room with sleeping infants inside. A call from Tyler assured Jared that Piper was fine, happy, and riding the puppy that was bigger than she was.

As he felt himself falling to sleep, content and at peace, Jared knew if Jensen wanted more kids, he’d do his best to give the man that wish. If he didn’t, that would be fine as well… But the cop knew if they did have any more, they were going to have to break Jensen of his habit of naming the kids from a TV show.

“Love you forever, Jen.” He whispered, looking at their children. He smiled and then fell asleep with dreams of their lives together.

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Look for more new stuff coming soon. I have an Mpreg 1-shot to be posted as well as a new J2 AU to start posting this week as well.


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